The Adventures of Shadow Gear
by kurisu313
Summary: What if Jet and Droy weren't completely useless? What would Shadow Gear get up to on missions? Set in a generalized timeline before the Tenrou Island arc. Some GaLe because they're clearly meant for each other but it's not the main focus.
1. The Book

**Fairy Tail, of course, belongs to Hiro Mashima. I just get to play around in his sandpit.**

**I think chapter 1 is by far and away my worst, and hope you'll give another chapter a try if you don't like it.**

**I'd really appreciate any feedback.**

* * *

The town of Shadom is a small, sleepy village in the mountains. It's the sort of place where everyone knows each other, and strangers don't come unless they're passing through.

Levy collapsed over the village edge, exhausted. "So…many…hills…," she croaked.

"Oi, oi," commented Jet, "It wasn't that bad. Right, Droy?" Jet looked over, and Droy too, had collapsed. He looked scornfully at his friend.

"Hey man, we're not all speed mages," he admonished.

"Can we eat? Pleeeaaase?" asked Levy.

* * *

They found a small café, which eagerly welcomed the travellers to the small village. Jet and Levy looked on with amazement as Droy stuffed himself.

"You should slow down," said Jet, nursing his own meagre meal. "You'll get fat."

"Nah," said Droy between mouthfuls, "I'm the type that doesn't put on weight. Besides you need to keep your strength up before going on a mission, right Levy?" Levy, who had been poking at her stomach and weighing her hunger up, snapped back to reality.

"Yeah," she agreed, "But it's just a simple retrieval mission. It's a job for a courier, really, but it pays."

"Wonder why they bothered hiring mages at all," said Jet, "Go to Shadom, pick up a book from a storehouse. It has to be some kind of potent magic book, for this to be worthwhile."

"You think?" asked Levy, brightening.

"Don't you have enough books to read?" asked Jet with a grin, and Levy laughed. The pair paled as Droy let out a loud belch.

* * *

They arrived at the storehouse. Levy went up to the security guard.

"We're here to pick up our client's book," she said, showing them the docket they were given when they accepted the mission.

"Huh?" said the Guard, puzzled. "Someone else came in a few minutes ago, looking for the same thing!"

"Eeeeehhhhh!?" Cried the trio as one. Pushing past the guard, they hurried into the storehouse. Inside, it was a dusty building, with stone floors and a multitude of wooden shelving carrying various items. They found the subject of their worry almost immediately. A tall man with long, straight, brown hair was holding their client's book, reading it idly. He wore a long, pale cloak that concealed a dark gi beneath. He looked up, disinterested, with cold, blue eyes. "Can I help you?"

"What are you doing?" roared Droy, "That's our client's property!"

"Yes, but I wanted it," he replied nonchalantly, flicking a page. He looked up to find Jet in his face. "Huh, you're a quick one, aren't you?"

"Hand over the book," said Jet proffering his hand, "and we can avoid a conflict."

"How mature. I appreciate that. I'm the bookish type, you see, and would like to avoid a needless fight." He made no motion to hand over the book, and flicked another page. "Bastard!" shouted Jet, exasperated by the man's demeanour. "Don't panic, I will return the book once I have finished with it."

"Let us be clear," Said Levy strongly, "We are mages of Fairy Tail. If you try to prevent us from completing our mission, we will stop you. So, please, hand the book over, or we will fight."

The stranger's eyes suddenly became alive. "Then take it."

Jet's punch took him square in the jaw, but he didn't as much as twitch. A moment later, Jet was sent reeling backwards by an unseen blow, careening into a shelving stack, causing it to collapse. His team cried his name. The stranger sighed deeply, snapped the book shut and placed it into a satchel. "I suppose I'll have to read this later, then."

"Levy!" cried Droy, "Plant Magic: Aquifer Seed!" The thrown seeds erupted into an enormous water lily which produced a stream of water, dowsing the stranger. Levy reacted at once.

"Right! Solid Script: Bolt!" The letters appeared before her, sending a bolt of lightning crashing forward. The stranger didn't move an inch under the assault.

"Oh, I see, using water to increase the lightning's power. You probably shouldn't have done that."

A moment later, Levy cried out as she was struck by lightning from no discernible source. She fell, crashing on to the ground.

"Levy!" roared Droy. "No way, body link magic?" Jet punched him, but he was hit. Levy hit him, but she was shocked. "What do I do?" he whispered. Attacking would only hurt himself, like Laxus' hall of thunder. The stranger smirked and his demeanour changed again, relaxing from the fight.

"My name is Kirion. Look me up if you ever want a rematch." He simply turned and walked away. Droy almost went after him, but had no plan of attack, and need to check his teammates were ok. Frustration boiled.

"Damnit! Levy are you OK?" She was struggling to rise on shaky feet, her skin and clothes lightly charred. Droy helped support her.

"I'm alright," she lied. There was a movement down the storehouse, and Jet re-emerged, holding his ruined hat. His long coat had too been damaged by the crates collapsing on him. His furious face was bruised. "Bastard…"

* * *

Droi waited outside the clothes shop, while Levy and Jet replaced their damaged clothing. Levy emerged first in a red tank top and pale shorts. Jet took longer, and came out in a simple navy t-shirt and a white, fir trimmed jacket.

"They've got nothing here in my style." He spat.

"Yeah but your style sucks," Commented Droy tactlessly. "You look good without a hat," said Levy rather more nicely. Jet smiled, but then sighed. "How much are we down?"

"Between the clothes and the damages to the storehouse…5'000 jewels." A moment passed and all three sighed. "But," ventured Droy, "If there's a rival mage, the difficulty goes up so we can demand more money!"

Levy looked troubled. "But if he has body link magic, how can we stop him?"

"Simple," said Droy. "There are three of us. He'll be taking three times the amount of damage!"

"Oh yeah," cried Levy. "We can do it with teamwork!"

"Team Shadow Gear!" the pair shouted taking stupid poses. A moment passed before they realized that Jet was not joining in.

"Jet…what's wrong?" asked Levy. His face was serious, concentrating.

"It's not body link magic. Body link magic deals equal damage to the caster as the recipient, but he wasn't even damaged. It's something more complicated." He paused. "But no one is invincible. We'll have to work hard to find a way to bring him down!"

"If it's the three of us, we can do anything!" said Levy, and Jet smiled.

"Team Shadow Gear!" This time all three took their poses. "Now to find this Kirion asshole!"

"Oh, Kirion, you say?" Said a passing old man. "He lives in the house on the outskirts of the village. Take a right by Millie's Bakery, you can't miss it. Nice young boy."

The three stood there dumbfounded, still holding their poses.

* * *

Kirion's front door blew open under the force of Droy's Mandragora plant. He rushed from the back room as the trio entered his expansive front room with a mezzanine. His jaw was comically hanging open, and his eyes were wide with disbelief.

"Hey! I was nice before, but now you're just barging into other people's houses! Do normal people just break down people's doors these days?"

"Where is the book?" Demanded Levy.

"Oh? I was just reading it in the back. It's quite interesting. Do you plan to take it? I said I'd return it when I was done."

"Remember the plan," said Jet. Small attacks until they could find out his secret, nothing that could take themselves out.

"Plant Magic: Knuckle Plant!" Droy reeled back with the successive blows, but he had held back the power, so he gritted his teeth and hung on. Kirion didn't move.

"Pointless."

"Solid Script: Bullet!" As the word formed, a storm of tiny projectiles burst forth. Kirion stood within the stream, seemingly unharmed. Levy however, squealed under the sympathetic impacts. She maintained for a few seconds longer but eventually fell over.

"Pointless," he repeated.

"No," said Jet, "I saw that! Speed Magic!" He dashed forward in a straight line, but at the last second disappeared to the side, and landed a punch. This time, Kirion reeled back from the blow, murder in his eyes.

"Hah! Got You! Levy! When you attacked, he didn't deflect all the bullets. There are some holes in his clothes. Your ability allows you to turn power back on the owner, but you have to time it perfectly. In that storm of bullets you missed a few. Then, you couldn't see my attack coming, so failed to block it. Levy! Droy! We just have to attack him when he isn't looking!"

"Your heroic speech kinda failed at the end," commented Droy.

"Uh-huh," agreed Levy.

Kirion laughed uproariously. "Don't get cocky, punks. I haven't even launched an attack yet!" He threw his cloak aside, revealing a dark, flowing gi underneath. A martial arts-type magic user, thought Jet, like a man he'd heard of from Quatro Cerberus.

"Body Magic: Reinforcement!" He began to shine with a golden light. Jet dashed in again, but this time found Kirion's fists ready to meet him. He ducked and pulled away as best he could, but his magic only increased his running speed, while this guy's was also affecting his reflexes. He took a shot to the gut, but managed to pull away and rejoin Levy and Droy in line.

"Don't shy away now, I've just started! Body Magic: Reinforcement Level Two!" In a blinding flash, he disappeared. The trio barely had time to voice their disbelief before – "Impact!"

Levy cried out as her tiny body was hurled into the air by a great force from behind. Jet and Droy looked up at her helpless form with dread. With two additional cries of 'Impact', Jet and Droy's worlds also went tumbling around them, and they crashed unmoving in a heap.

As his vision faded, Jet heard Kirion talk. "Like I said, pointless."

* * *

Jet awoke after some indeterminable amount of time, and sat bolt upright immediately. He winced, clutching at his head, and wished he hadn't. He was surprised to find himself in a comfy bed. He slowly tried to take stock of his bearings. Was he in a hospital ward? His torso was wound with bandages.

"Levy? Droy?" He was delighted to hear a reply, and Levy ran in from the corridor, closely followed by Droy. She threw her arms around him. "I'm glad you're ok." Droy looked on with some annoyance, but had already had the same treatment, so couldn't complain.

"Hey, hey," said Jet, ruffling her hair. He could that both of them also had plasters and bandages. "How did we get here?" Droy's face took on an inscrutable expression.

"I think that asshole carried us here." Reacting to Jet's expression before he could speak, he continued. "I don't know why. Guy was an asshole, but seemed like he was more interested in his property than being malicious."

"I'm glad we're ok," said Levy, beaming. "It's the most important thing." She reacted in surprise as Jet thumped the bed.

"One guy? Three of us and we can't even lay a finger on him? Why? Why? I have to get stronger. I won't let that happen again!" His teeth were gritted, and his eyes blazed. Droy nodded in agreement. "If we ever meet that guy again, we'll need a strategy."

"I can research this 'Body Magic' said Levy thoughtfully, "there must be some books on it."

"That's our Levy!" Cried the two boys. At that moment, there was a knock on the door and a nurse entered, holding something to her chest. "Oh, I'm glad to see you up and about. There was a delivery for you." She held out the something, and they could see it was the book.

"Eeeeeeeeeeeehhhh!?" They cried. There was a note attached to the book. 'Told you that you could have it when I was finished reading it. Stay off of my property. Sorry for borrowing yours, but I just had to read it! Look forward to seeing you again, Kirion'

The trio looked at the note absolutely dumbfounded. After a moment, Levy recovered and grabbed the book with stars in her eyes. "Now to have a little peek," she said mischievously and opened the book. After a few moments, her face went bright red, and a column of steam rose from her head.

"What, what?" cried the boys, crowding around to have a look. A moment passed.

"Its porn!" raged Droi.

"Our client's a lazy pervert!" shrieked Levy.

"That asshole was just too cheap to buy his own porno!" shouted Jet.

Another few moments passed and the trio collapsed on the bed.

"Damages, Clothes, Hospital Bills…," murmured Droy.

"To rescue a naughty book from a guy who was going to put it back…," whimpered Levy.

"Who kicked all of our butts…" whispered Jet.

A minute or so went buy and Droy said, "Let's not tell anyone about this, ok?" The other two nodded their agreement.


	2. Stronger, Faster

They were walking to their next mission, and Droy was strolling along a pleasant country path. To his right was a river, cordoned off by a short stone wall. A stone wall which Levy was walking on.

"When did you pick up that habit from Lucy?" he said with a smile.

"I'm practising my balance," she said tersely. Her face was all concentration, like a small child trying to do something that would be easy for an adult, her arms outstretched for balance. Droy was struck by how cute she looked. The huge bag she was carrying could not have been helping her, as it was slung to her right, unbalancing her. It was always amazing how the little genius often missed things a normal person would see.

There was a rush of movement, and the third member of their party rejoined them, streaking down the path.

"Yo Jet, much further?" called Droy.

"About an hour away now," said Jet. He looked up at the setting sun. "Should be there by nightfall." His face screwed up in annoyance. "I feel like I'm almost getting something. The more I run, the more I feel I can develop my speed to the next level."

Ever since their disastrous encounter with Kirion, Jet had been taking training very seriously. Droy had researched some new plant seeds, but in the end lost interest, much to Jet's consternation. Levy had been doing some of her promised research, but wasn't doing it full tilt. Some of it was their disciplines. Jet's magic required constant physical activity, and he was raring to go.

"Kyaaah!" It was at that point that Levy pitched off the wall and into the river.

* * *

After that, Jet had raced her to their destination, the village's inn. She now sat wrapped in a blanket, with only her head poking out. Droy had joined them as soon as he could. She had the expression of annoyance she reserved for when she knew that she had done something stupid. As 'the smart one', those moments irked her. Droy knew better than to try and talk to her like this.

He looked out of the window, looking for Jet. He'd gone to their client to pick up their goal. This was a typical 'Levy' mission, with a mysterious scroll that needed decoding. Jet and Droy basically just formed a bodyguard. He often got frustrated by feeling useless, and wondered if Jet had the right idea in training. His big fear was that one day Levy would ditch them, as they were pointless to have around.

Jet returned, and in his hand he carried a scroll. Levy's demeanour changed in an instant and she bounded out of the blanket with stars in her eyes. Jet held the scroll far above her reach while she protested, then whacked her on the head with it.

"No. Bad Levy," he said, straight faced. "Back to bed with you." She immediately brought out the puppy dog eyes. Jet felt his will dissolve instantly. He turned around and placed the scroll on the desk just to get away from those eyes. "It'll still be here in the morning." He ushered her back to bed, expertly avoiding looking at her face. To his surprise, she fell asleep almost instantly, obviously more tired than she realised. He turned away from her beautiful sleeping face before he could let his thoughts wander.

He walked over to Droy, who was sorting out his seed packets on a desk. He'd grown familiar with some of the markings on the packets over the years, but there appeared to be several new ones. "What's this?" He asked, picking up one of the packets.

"Ah, that's a Chain Plant. It's used to bind things. Afraid I might have had to tie Levy to the bed if she didn't calm down!" He laughed and Jet laughed too.

* * *

Jet and Droy awoke the next morning, having shared a bed, as they often did when money was tight. To their complete lack of surprise, Levy was already up and working on the scroll. The huge bag she had carried was open and huge tomes of ancient languages spilled out.

"Oi, oi," said Jet, rubbing his head, "Don't tell me you've been up for too long."

"No, no," replied Levy brightly, "Thanks for letting me sleep!" Jet and Droy went downstairs and ordered breakfast, knowing that she wouldn't be moving from that spot for a while. They took it up to her then went about showering and getting ready for the day ahead. After a little while of playing cards, Jet was getting pent up.

"Man, I need to go for a run," he declared. "Will you stay here and look after Levy?" While he might be bored, Droy leapt on the chance to be alone with Levy and readily agreed. Jet left and Droy watched Levy work for a while before again splaying out his seed packets. He was performing a thought experiment, looking at what combinations he might be able to pull off. That counted as training, right?

After a length of time, Levy sat back, making a sound of frustration. Her stomach growled. She looked at Droy. "Hey, why didn't you get me any breakfast?" Droy raised an eyebrow. She looked over where her breakfast sat stone cold. "Oh, hehehe."

Droy smiled. "I saw a greengrocer last night, just down the road. Want me to pick you up something?"

"No one can pick fresh plants like you," Levy beamed and Droy's knees went weak. "I'll be back in a few minutes, are you sure you'll be ok by yourself?" Levy nodded, already turning back to the scroll.

* * *

On the outskirts of the village, Jet was running. He stopped, frustrated. "Argh, what am I missing?" He tried thinking rather than running. His magic was in his feet and legs. He shoved his hands into his pockets. What if he tried to restrain his arms, and focus solely on his feet? Surely his kicks would be stronger than his punches.

He found a scarecrow in a field and tested out some moves on it, dashing back and forward, while lashing out with kicks. But with his hands restrained, his balance was shot, and he kept falling over mid swing.

He smiled a feral smile. "Now this is at least training."

* * *

Levy was so engrossed in the scroll that she barely heard the window shatter. As she turned in surprise, something hard slammed into the side of her head and she keeled over, taking her chair with her. As her vision faded, she could see a female form standing over her and taking the scroll.

* * *

"Levy! Levy! Are you alright?" She awoke to find Droy kneeling over her, propping her upper body up. Immediately she clutched at her aching head. Droy picked her up and carried her to the bed, setting her down gently. She was shaking.

He got down to her eye level. "Are you alright?" He repeated. She nodded, but she was still shaking. "I'm not hurt too bad. But it reminded me...," she trailed off. Droy instantly knew what she meant. It had brought back memories of that fateful night, and her body, though unhurt, traitorously remembered the beating she had taken that day. He silently cursed his name.

Gajeel Redfox.

Jet and Droy had both been badly injured that day, including Droy's leg being broken, but long after they were unconscious had that bastard toyed with Levy. She alone was branded with the mark of Phantom Lord, and he would never ever forgive him for that. Gajeel could have ground his bones into dust and he might have found forgiveness, but the second he touched a hair on Levy's head, he had crossed a line.

"It was a woman." Droy reacted in surprise from his dark thoughts. "I can sort of remember her. She wasn't very big, but she reminded me of Erza. Red hair and armour. I think she was holding a staff," her hand went up unconsciously to the injury on her head.

"What the…," Droy turned to find Jet had re-entered. He took in the scene, and as it processed his eyes became full of guilt. Why did he leave? If he'd only have stayed…

"I'm OK," said Levy, rising from the bed. She quickly filled Jet in on the scant details she had. "I hadn't finished, but I get the feeling that the scroll had important information about this village. A location of some sort."

Jet was surprised. "Buried treasure?" He asked. Levy made a thoughtful expression. "Possibly, but it could be more important that, maybe a magical artefact, or some documents."

"Right," said Droy, pulling on a jacket. "We've got searching to do." The sentence was directed only at Jet.

"Oi, I'm coming too," protested Levy.

"No, you stay here where it's safe." Levy's face became devilish.

"Two points: One, its safe here?" She gestured to the window and the boys blanched. "Two, I know where the scroll is!" With that, she proceeded from the room, followed by the boys blustering.

* * *

On the village outskirts, the girl sat on the roof of a barn, idly reading the scroll. Her name was Ariane, and she did indeed resemble a little Erza, with her red hair in pigtails and clad in black wing armour. She looked up at an angry cry to see three people standing across the field, facing her.

"Give that back," cried Levy.

"How did you find me?" Ariane shouted back indignantly, puffing up her cheeks. Jet and Droy were momentarily taken aback by how cute she was. She couldn't have been more than five foot. But then they remembered what she'd done to Levy and their resolves hardened.

Levy giggled. "Turn it over." She did so, and on the back was the word 'Trace' written in solid script. Her face flushed with anger.

"Did you do this, A-cup?" She shouted. Jet and Droy jumped back as Levy was consumed by rage. "What did you call me!?"

"What?" asked the knight mockingly. "A full grown woman with no breasts and has topped out at four foot ten. Whereas I am a mighty five foot one, and look at these," she said, pushing her ample chest forward.

"So what if you're bigger than me?" Looking on with bemusement, Droy tried to drag the conversation back on topic.

"Why do you want that scroll?"

"Silly boys, it describes where a powerful weapon is buried around here, and I want it. Or can a certain flat-chested midget not translate such a simple language?" With that, Levy's last tenuous connection to sanity snapped. She stood up, smouldering with rage. "Jet! Droy! We're going all out from the start! I don't want to see either of you holding back because she's a girl! We are Team Shadow Gear!"

Ariane jumped into the air with the aid of her Black Wing Armour. "Exquip: Photon Spear!" The staff in her hands was replaced by a spear, crackling with energy. She unleashed three slashes at the trio.

"Solid Script: Guard!" The word sprang up to protect Levy.

"Plant Magic: Wallnut!" Droy was shielded by an enormous armoured plant erupting from the ground.

"Speed Magic: High Speed!" Jet sidestepped from the path of the third slash.

Ariane let out six bursts this time, two at each member of Shadow Gear. The trio tried the same tactics, but she'd planned for that. The first slash broke Droy's walnut and the second slammed into him. Jet side-stepped out of the way of the first, right into the second. Against Levy the slammed into the ground, under her Guard, and Ariane swept her spear up. The pair of slashes erupted forth, cutting her badly.

She laughed, high pitched and annoying. "Is Fairy Tail so weak?" She reacted suddenly to Jet behind her, eyes blazing. He lashed out with a series of rolling kicks, but she blocked them all on her spear and flew away higher, aiming a slash at Jet, helpless in mid-air.

He vanished.

"What?" Cried Levy and Droy.

"In mid-air?" Shrieked Ariane.

"Speed Magic: Sky Step!" Jet jumped from the very air itself, using the magic in his feet as a solid platform, and as Ariane looked up, all she could see was the residual magic where he had jumped. Then he was coming down in a straight bolt.

"Spiral kick!" He shouted, impacting her with high rotation and flinging her earthwards. "Droy! Levy!"

"Can't let you take all the glory now," grinned Droy. "Plant Magic: Mandragora! A huge plant appeared behind Droy and unleashed a stream of fireballs at Ariane's falling form.

"Solid Script: Storm!" The hurricane unleashed from the word gathered up the fireballs into a flaming Typhoon. She cried out as she was struck and hurled around, being flung off into the distance.

"And that's how Fairy Tail does things!" Said Levy.

"Attacking a small girl three on one…," murmered Droy.

"Kyaaah!" Cried Levy apropos of nothing. "She had the scroll!"

"Heehee," laughed Jet, holding the scroll. "I took the liberty of retrieving our property earlier."

* * *

Once Levy had finished decoding the scroll, they found the location indicated and unearthed what was buried there. A large box opened to reveal a gleaming sword.

"The sacred sword, Excalibur," Levy read on the hilt. She tried to lift it but it was far too heavy for her frame to wield and she pitched over. "How does Erza do this?"

"That's a point," said Droy. "Better not tell Erza, or she might come after this." He looked at Jet. "I'm impressed by what you did earlier. You were right, I need to become stronger."

"Me too," exclaimed Levy happily. "We'll become stronger together!"

Jet grinned. "To another successful mission by Team Shadow Gear!" The trio cheered and adopted stupid poses, as is their idiom.

* * *

Ariane walked along a road dejectedly. Her whole body burned, and so did her anger.

"Stupid Shadow Gear," she spat petulantly.

"Shadow Gear?" Said a voice in front of her. "Want to get back at them, do you?" She looked up to see a tall stranger wearing a long, pale cloak.

"I can help," said Kirion.


	3. Vs the Strauss Siblings

Levi, Jet and Droy were resting their heads on a table in the main guild hall, utterly bored. There were two problems that were undoubtedly connected. The Job Board was empty and there was no-one there. Even Nab appeared to have taken off. They couldn't remember seeing the guild this empty before.

From behind the bar, Mira-jane watched them with smiling eyes. Then the door kicked open and a familiar voice was heard bellowing.

"As a man, I'm happy to be home!" Declared Elfman.

"Mira nii-san!" Cried Lisanna, running to greet her sister.

"Elfman, Lisanna! Welcome home!"

"Oh, big sis, you shoulda seen her. Lisanna's become a real man!"

"That's…completely wrong," said Mira.

From a distance, Shadow Gear watched the Strauss sibling's reunion.

"How nice for them," commented Levy.

"Well, it just got noisier," said Droy dryly.

The trio suddenly flailed as Elfman slammed his hand on their table.

"Ooh, are you bored? Real men make their own entertainment!"

"I'm a girl…," noted Levy.

"I mean, let's spar like men!"

"Didn't you just get back? Why do you have so much energy?" Cried Jet.

"I'm still a girl," Levy said, knowing she wasn't being listened to.

"Real men have lots of energy!"

Jet rose. "Sure, I'll take you on big guy."

"Oh? As a man I cannot refuse your request!" He suddenly lit up. "Hey, I've got a great idea! Sisters!" He called. "How about we make it a three on three?"

"How nice," commented Mira in her airy way.

"Well, that escalated quickly," noted Droy.

"Totally," said Levy, exasperated.

* * *

They stood outside on the practise grounds, lined up against each other.

"As a man, my soul is shaking!" Roared Elfman.

"I'm gonna make you shut up," commented Jet, with a feral grin.

"Don't hold back 'cuz I'm a girl," stated Lisanna.

"Of course," smiled Droy.

"I hope you're ready," said Mira in her usual placid tones. Levy suddenly looked left and right, seemingly noticing the line up for the first time.

"Aaah! Why am I against Mira?"

"Beast Arm: Black Bull!" Elfman charged forward, and was met by Jet ducking under his swing and doing a flash kick into his jaw. Elfman recovered instantly, and drove his fist into Jet's gut, knocking him back.

"Animal Soul: Bird!" Shouted Lisanna, jumping in to the sky. She easily dodged Droy's Knuckle plants and dove down on him from above. "Animal Soul: Rabbit!" Droy had to hurriedly rush out of the way to avoid being crushed by the overgrown rabbit.

Mira just stood there, with her usual demure attitude. Levy looked on, shaking. "Do…do, I attack?"

"Let' me show you what I've learned!" Jet jumped into the sky, performing the Spiral Kick on a stunned Elfman, sending him to land next to Mira.

A chain plant ensnared Lisanna, but by shrinking to Bird size, she easily escaped the Ropes. However Droy had been expecting it and an Impact Bulb flew into the sky. The plant emitted a powerful shock wave sending Lisanna crashing on Mira's other side.

"Heh, how's that," said Jet. He looked over. "That's our Levy, fighting with Daemon Mira and doesn't have a scratch on her!"

"So cool, Levy!"

"No…that's not….," croaked Levy.

"As a man, I respect your progress."

"Nice combo, Droy."

"Are we ready to begin now?" Asked Mira.

"Beast Soul…,"

"Animal Soul…,"

"Satan Soul…,"

"…Takeover!"

"You're going that far?" gasped Jet.

"So cute!" exclaimed Droy.

"Waaaah! I'm too young to die!" cried Levy.

Daemon-Mira threw an evil explosion that would have engulfed all three members of Shadow Gear had they not jumped out of the way. Before any of them touched the ground they had the Strauss family in their faces.

Lisanna's Tigress form was too fast for Droy to counter properly and he became covered in scratches quickly. None of her attacks had a lot of power, but he couldn't stop them, no matter what he tried. Fighting a cute girl also lowered his natural abilities, and he was quickly overwhelmed.

Jet made some headway against Elfman by dodging and running around him, but after executing a flawless kick to the head, Elfman took his chance. His resilience allowed him to survive it and grab Jet before he could get away. With his spare hand he decked Jet into the floor.

Mira sent a stream of magic blasts down from above, and Levy was just about able to guard against them with Solid Script: Guard. Mira then increased the number of shots, bypassing the guard and exploding around Levy.

"A simple wall is not a good defence against a barrage," she commented.

"When will that ever come up again?" retorted Levy.

Then Mira was right on top of her, and grabbed her in a horizontal hold. "You're dismissing my kind advice?" She squeezed briefly until there was a crunch and Levy's soul began to exit her mouth. Mira grabbed it and shoved it back in. "Not yet." She tossed Levy on to the ground, and Jet and Droy staggered over to her, just in time for all three of them to be caught in an evil explosion. They lay on the ground sprawling, charred from head to toe.

Returning to her normal form, Mira began to walk away. "My, my, it's nice to let loose once in a while."

"That's my sister! What a man!"

"No!" Huffed Lisanna, and the two women giggled as the trio walked away.

* * *

Shadow gear lay there for quite a while. At some point, Mira came back and bandaged their injuries, but otherwise left them to their own devices. Splayed on his back, Jet looked up at the stars as they began to come out.

"I lack offensive power," he stated simply. "Hell, I'm not tough either. I'm not even a glass cannon."

Droy, now sitting cross legged added his thoughts. "I can't react quickly enough to changing circumstances. I have some variety, but can't use it properly."

Levy, laying splayed on her front hadn't learnt anything from her match save that Mira was as strong as the rumours. She still knew her weaknesses, namely a lack of magical or physical power. She potentially had a huge variety of abilities, but ran out of stamina too quickly.

"What if…we'd fought as a team, and not three individual battles?" She wondered.

"Then Mira would have crushed all three of us," said Jet and they sighed.

"But it's a good point," said Droy. "Maybe we're spending too much time thinking of individual power, and not enough on team tactics."

At that point they heard footsteps coming into the grounds and looked up to see the Thunder Legion; Fried, Bixlow and Evergreen. They'd evidently just returned from a mission, carrying heavy luggage.

"Brahahaha!" Laughed Bixlow, "It seems like you guys got run into the ground, huh?"

"The ground, the ground," his dolls repeated.

"Ohhh? Was someone stupid enough to fight the Daemon Mira?" Taunted Evergreen.

"Hmm," said Fried, closing his eyes. "I too was no match for her, so when you guys rest up, maybe we'll form a better opponent for you to spar with." He opened his eyes to find an empty battleground. "Huh?"

Jet was running for his life, and Levy and Droy were clinging to him for grim death.

"I miss the boring times!" Cried Jet, and his teammates agreed.


	4. The Bandit

The Guild stayed quiet for a while, but at least the job board began to fill up. Shadow Gear was looking over some of the newly arrived quests.

"50 Jewels for dog walking? Who posts this rubbish?" commented Jet.

"10 million for dragon slaying?" noted Levy, "No way that's real."

"Ooh, look at this one," said Droy pointing.

700'000

Bandit Slaying

Please help us! We have been plagued by a bandit gang (~approx 20 members) with a mage for their leader.

Jet frowned. "700'000? That's an odd amount."

"It's not really our area," said Levy. "But 20 non-magic users? Could we do that?"

"Look, it's really close," said Droy, pointing to the address.

As they considered it, they heard a clumping behind them, and a figure pushed roughly past them. "Hey Lily, this one looks good," said a familiar rough voice.

Gajeel.

"Oi, we were looking at that," said Jet angrily. Even if the Slayer's conduct hadn't been rude, the bastard set him on edge.

The tall man grinned that evil grin. "This is a man's job. Weaklings need not apply." Jet and Droy balled their fists, but it was Levy who walked up to him. "This is our job, so back off."

Inwardly, Gajeel was impressed, but outwardly, he leaned down. "What was that, shrimp? I can't hear you down there."

Levy's face turned so red and her cheeks puffed up so much that for a moment Gajeel was sure that she would explode. Instead she turned around, snatched the Job from the board and stormed toward the bar to hand it in. Jet and Droy glared at him and he grinned back.

"Gajeel, if you're done, let's go," commented Lily.

"S'alright." He turned away. "If you guys make it back alive, I'll buy you a drink. Gihihi!"

* * *

It didn't take too long to find the bandit's hideout. It was surprisingly civilized: an enormous manse in the forest. However, with twenty drunken criminals inhabiting it, it had fallen into disrepair. In the dark of the night, two bandits walked sentry duty around the building. They never saw the word 'Hole' appear beneath their feet, and cried out as they fell. Droy chucked a couple of Knuckle Plant seeds into the hole.

Apparently their cries of pain were heard as lights flickered on in the manse and five bandits came piling out of the front door, looking for trouble. Two were hit by a Bolt from Levy, but these were tough bastards and didn't go down. Then Jet was in their midst and the fighting got rough. They brandished steel cudgels and swords, but Jet danced around them, lashing out with powerful kicks, reinforcing his feet with speed magic.

In a few moments it was over, and the trio dragged the five bandits back to the hole and threw them in.

Seven down.

No one else had come running out, instead choosing the safety of the manse. Jet disappeared briefly, blazing a circle around the manse. "Round the side, open window on the second floor." Using Droy's vines, they ascended and entered there, completely bypassing the defense set up on the ground floor.

Inside, they found a well kept library, with books lining every shelf. Levy's eyes shone for a moment, but then they alighted on the figure at the end of the room. It looked like a wizened old man, shrouded by a green cloak, hood pulled up to conceal his features. He stood to face them.

"I guess you're this group's pet wizard, huh?" Said Jet.

The man didn't respond. Waving his gnarled wooden staff, he generated runes not unlike Frieds, and bolts of magic shot out, but they never reached the trio. Levy grinned, her counter spell having worked. The man's eyes seemed to focus on them for the first time.

"Heh, sorry old man, but we're a bad match for you," said Droy.

The man waved his staff rapidly, and this time dozens of runes sprung up. "I am no learner, child."

"I can't stop all that!" Exclaimed Levy.

"They move in straight lines! Just follow them with your eyes and you can dodge!" Shouted Jet. As the beams shot out, the trio dodged, but Levy and Droy were both struck glancing blows.

"Speed Magic: Dempsey Roll!" Jet took the brunt off of them by moving forward in a rolling figure of eight. The cloaked man redoubled his efforts on Jet, and he could no longer press forward, but then Levy began focusing on counter runes, cancelling out as many of his shots as she could.

While they were doing that, Droy had run around a bookshelf to find bandits piling in through the door. In the confined space an Impact Bulb made quick work of them, five going down in an instant. But more were piling in, throwing weapons to cover the distance. A Wallnut sprang up, defending him. Learn, he shouted inwardly. Switch between offense and defense seamlessly.

"Plant Magic: Razor Thistle!" Bladed vines shot up, knocking down the bandits in sprays of blood. Still more were coming.

The cloaked man clearly wanted to blast Levy, but Jet was so close now that he had no time to waste. In an instant Jet closed the last couple of metres, springing up off of his leading right leg into an uppercut that landed right on the man's jaw. As the man's body was lifted off of the floor, Levy called forth a Storm, sending the man slamming into a bookshelf. He collapsed in a heap.

"Nice teamwork," grinned Jet. Levy smiled and nodded. Droy rejoined them, with a few bruises but otherwise fine. The choke point of the doorway had allowed him to clear out the bandits rather handily.

"Before you start scouring this library," Droy said wryly, "We'd better check that we've cleared them all out." There was a close call a bit later on when a hidden bandit had jumped out on Levy, thinking her easy prey, but a Solid Script: Fire had dealt with him.

They tied up the unconscious bandits outside around trees and went to contact the authorities. Somehow, along the way the cloaked man had disappeared. That was troubling in and of itself, but it also lowered the bounty to a paltry 200'000 jewels. He had been worth the lion's share.

* * *

The cloaked man, Barudan, walked through the forest using his staff as a walking stick.

"Kyayayaya! Lost to 'em did ya?"

He looked up to see a tall man with a small girl.

"I have an offer for you," said Kirion.

* * *

When they returned, Fairy Tail was much more lively. Lucy ran up.

"Levy-chan! Are you ok, you have wounds!"

"Mm. I'm ok, Lu-chan!" Levy replied brightly.

Jet and Droy walked past mumbling something about how they were fine too, when they heard a familiar ruckus. Natsu and Gajeel were arguing about something trivial.

"Fists of the fire…," shouted Natsu, followed by a dull thump as Gajeel sent him flying onto a table. Natsu's delayed spell went off, sending chunks of tables in all directions. One large part landed on Levy. Other parts smacked into Gray, Elfman and Erza and the predictable riot began, dragging Jet and Droy into it.

"Thirty seconds home and it hurts more than my entire last mission," murmured Levy before passing out.

Later, they all sat at the bar, considerably more bandaged than when they'd arrived. They turned as they heard a clinking noise. Gajeel had dropped a few jewels on the counter. Annoyingly, the resilient slayer seemed to have suffered no damage from the fight.

"Eh, not bad for a bunch of weaklings," he said. "Fair's fair."

"One day, we'll take you down a peg or two, metalhead," said Jet coldly. Gajeel smiled and pressed his face closer.

"I look forward to the day. I'd prefer strong Nakama." With that, he walked away, laughing his distinctive laugh.

"Asshole," said Jet.

"Asshole," agreed Droy. Levy kept her thoughts to herself. Jet briefly considered throwing the jewels away, but money was money.

"Mira! Another round to celebrate Team Shadow Gear's triumphant return!"


	5. Battle of the Blunettes

Levy exited the book shop labouring under the weight of six hefty tomes. She already knew how stupid this was, but oh no, she just had to have the entire set at once, didn't she? She tottered about on unsteady legs, desperately trying to keep her balance. Her arms throbbed, and she was fairly sure that her face had gone bright red from combined exertion and embarrassment.

As she made her way home, she was sure she heard passersby call her cute, and fairly certain that someone said 'like a puppy'. That was certainly not helping. It was all going fine though until she reached a flight of stairs she didn't see coming…and down she went.

Laying splayed at the bottom, body throbbing, surrounded by books, face tomato red, she wondered if the best course of action was to just cast Solid Script: Hole and disappear into it. Someone picked up the book in front of her.

"Are you ok, Levy-san?" Levy looked up to see Wendy, the Sky Dragon Slayer, along with her Exceed, Charla. Now Levy didn't have anything against Wendy, but she was the reminder of all her failings, and she didn't like being around her.

She was the only member of the guild shorter than Levy, and the only one with the same bra size. And Wendy was twelve. Both of those were going to overtake Levy in a growth spurt that she'd never had any day now. On top of that, from everything she had heard, Wendy was also much stronger than her. Her little frame was reinforced with Dragon Slayer magic, putting her far above her in terms of strength, speed and endurance.

"I'm ok, Wendy-chan. Thank you." She pulled herself to her feet. Wendy picked up two of the books, and Charla picked up one as well. With only three left to carry, Levy made much better progress back to Fairy Hills. They tried to find room to put the new books in her overcrowded room. When they were done, Levy had hoped that Wendy would leave, but the blue-haired girl looked like she wanted to say something.

"Levy-san, I was wondering if I could ask you for your help."

"What is it, Wendy-chan?"

"Have you heard of the sparring competition next week?" Levy had. Master had picked out a few people that he was interested in seeing the progress of, and had asked them to demonstrate with a spar. It wasn't a competition per se, just a chance to showcase skills. Chance was though, that the person in last place might suffer a punishment. The Master did so love punishments.

"Well, Master asked us to pick our own sparring partners to best demonstrate our skill. Will you be my partner?" Wendy switched so fast from shy to bold it took Levy by surprise.

"Eeeh? Why me?"

"Well, you're the only person in my size range, and everyone else is so scary." The unintended insult hit Levy like a brick. She was the only guild member Wendy wasn't afraid to fight against. "But I need you to fight me seriously. I need to do my best."

Levy's resolve hardened. This was a chance, to prove…something. "Alright Wendy, but I'm going to go all out. I won't give you any slack."

Wendy smiled. "Thank you, Levy-san!"

* * *

Jet and Droy didn't see hide or hair of Levy for the next week, but heard about the development from Lucy, who was having a dilemma on who to cheer for. She'd settled on Wendy because it was her exam.

Jet was vaguely disgusted that he hadn't been chosen for this test, wanting to showcase some new skills, but understood that the exam was for the newer members, and some returning ones. The Thunder Legion were enrolled because they'd been away so much. Somehow, Fried and Bixlow had managed to go against each other.

Jet and Droy had only one goal right now: to become Levy's cheering squad. They'd support her one hundred percent.

* * *

On the day of the exam, Levy woke bright and early to shower and get ready. She pulled on a pink and white tank top and a pink skirt. She was trying not to admit it to herself, but she'd gone for pink to at least win in the cuteness stakes. She placed a lucky red headband in her hair, drawing her hair out of her eyes. As was her usual custom, she also had detached sleeves.

She looked at herself in the mirror and put her game face on. She'd never make a fearsome warrior, but at least she was a cute one. Play to your strengths, she thought.

She thought about recent events. Jet had become a lot stronger recently, having found the drive to improve. Droy had taken longer, but his abilities had also seen a marked improvement. She was immensely proud of them, but was beginning to realize that she was falling behind. She knew that her skills were invaluable, but she didn't want to be a burden in a fight.

She clenched a fist. She had something to prove.

* * *

Levy watched from the sidelines in amazement as Fried and Bixlow fought. The spars had a thirty minute max time limit, and over those thirty minutes a tremendous amount of magical energy was tossed around, and at the end neither had more than a scratch. They knew each other so well that they saw everything coming.

"Very good, Fried and Bixlow," Master Makarov stated proudly. "I think you two have avoided punishment."

A silence passed over the crowd at the reminder.

"Next match; Wendy and Levy." The two small girls walked up to the simple fighting arena, which was little more than a raised dirt platform surrounded by pews. Jet and Droy were all ready with the drum and fans. "Come on," shouted Jet. They were immediately drowned out by a pillar of fire being shot into the sky.

"Wendy! You can do it!" Roared Natsu.

"Show the shrimp the power of a dragon slayer!" Shouted Gajeel, grinning and laughing.

"Work hard, Wendy-chan!" Called Lucy. "Sorry Levy-chan," she added in a whisper.

Happy and Charla were adding in their voices too.

"Lu-chan…Gajeel…," trailed off Levy in annoyance.

"Ok, third fight, thirty minute limit, begin!" Shouted Makarov. Levy turned to face her opponent. Wendy wore a short purple kimono-like dress, and her hair was tied back to keep her eyes clear. Despite her appearance, Levy reminded herself that Wendy was for most purposes a close-range fighter. If she let her close that distance it would be over quickly.

"Thank you, Levy-san," Wendy bowed.

"Uhhh…yeah," Levy replied, bowing as well. She decided to take the initiative.

"Solid Script: Fire!" The word appeared and surged forward. Wendy spread her hands wide.

"Wings of the Sky Dragon!" The rushing winds on the end of her hands gathered up the fire as Natsu had taught her and she unleashed it back at Levy.

Utterly wrong-footed, Levy barely managed to leap out of the way, being showered with dirt and debris. She knew that Storm was a bad call here, but Fire too? She hadn't seen that coming. She suddenly realized that the dirt cloud was obscuring her view of Wendy, and the next thing she heard was "Arms X Vernier!" before Wendy rushed through the cloud.

At the last possible instant she raised a Guard, and Wendy bounced off of it from her own momentum. Yes, now was the time to…Wendy flipped over, immediately found her feet and leapt back in, summoning another Wings of the Sky Dragon. Levy managed to dodge the first couple of blows, swinging around so that she was now backing into the centre of the battlefield, but then a pair of blows connected, to her stomach, making her double over, and then into her chin sending her over backwards tumbling to the dirt.

"Down!" Called Makarov. "1. 2. 3…"

Levy was on her feet. That had hurt, but it had also reopened the distance. The Vernier spell had seemed to wear off. "Solid Script: Bolt!" Wendy was unable to dodge, and the lightning struck. However, she didn't cry out, instead gritting her teeth, and remained on her feet.

"Hah...Uh…Solid Script: Hole!" The word travelled forwards, but Wendy sprang aside before it reached her. Wendy was now running a large circle around her, and Levy realised that the simple tactic neutralised almost all of her attacking options. Her spells were slow to cast and wouldn't hit a swiftly moving target. If she tried to aim ahead, Wendy would reverse course. She had to try something else.

"Solid Script: Sword!" The letters formed the shape of a sword, with the 'd' rotated to form a hilt. It was slender and lightweight, and Levy could handle it easily. Wendy stopped, clearly surprised by the development. This was something new and hard learnt. Never before had a word needed to be shaped so exactly to form what she needed.

Wendy charged in, and Levy went to meet her head on. But Wendy never reached sword's range.

"Slicing Winds of the Sky Dragon!" Still about two metres away, Wendy swept a large circular gale, engulfing Levy and easily tearing the sword from her hand and her from the ground. She cried out as she was swung around, but managed to look up in time to see Wendy.

"Claws of the Sky Dragon!" Spinning head over heels, Wendy slammed her feet down with the force of a storm, sending Levy slamming in to the earth. Levy's entire universe shrunk down to a few inches. All she could feel was the rushing of blood in her ears and the throbbing of pain from every inch of her body.

Dimly, she was aware that Makarov was counting. Beyond that, there was the crowd chanting Wendy's name. More painful was Gajeel's laughter. That asshole. But beyond that, she was aware of another sound.

"Levy! Levy! Levy!" Jet and Droy had never stopped chanting for her. She remembered why she was doing this. At the count of eight, she was on her feet. Her breathing was shallow and unsteady and she was shaking, but she stood. Her hair band was gone and her hair hung in her face.

This in itself was huge. Her biggest flaw was weak damage tolerance. Her small body simply could not take the abuse that other people could. She hated it. She'd heard of the ridiculous feats of tolerance the likes of Natsu or Erza or even Lucy went through and she was ashamed that she could not.

Wendy misread the situation, shocked that Levy had stood after her combo. She began to inhale, eating the air. Levy's eyes widened in shock, knowing what would come next. She had to withstand it! Had to!

"Solid Script: Guard!" roared Levy, putting every last ounce of magical power she had left into it.

"Roar of the Sky Dragon!" The hurricane wind didn't penetrate the Guard, but both it and Levy were pushed steadily back. Inch after inch, she held on, body screaming in protest. The inevitable began to happen, cracks appearing in the Guard. She cried out, forcing it to stay strong, and finally the wind ended, Wendy exhausted.

"I did it…," said Levy, collapsing. Again the count started, but no one was cheering, evidently confused by who to cheer for after that last exchange. On the count of three, Levy was up but fell over. Again, at seven she was on her feet but they gave out instantly. She was crying tears of frustration as the ten count ended, still trying to stand.

"Winner: Wendy," announced Makarov. The silent crowd burst into cheers, and Levy could hear Makarov congratulating Wendy on her progress. A powerful arm took her by the scruff of the neck and lifted her to her feet.

"Not bad, Shrimp."

"Gajeel," she said, blushing.

"Maybe if you get any stronger, we should spar, Gihi!" He laughed as he walked away.

"Stop doing that!"

Makarov approached her. "I'm impressed by your tenacity, Levy," he said, and she blushed again. "However, three downs puts you in line for the punishment. Bahohoho! Will it be you?" He danced around at the prospect.

"Eeeeeeh!?"

* * *

Down in the basement, Levy sat next to an endless mound of potatoes. There was to be a feast to celebrate the tournament and she had landed the punishment duty to peel all of them, by hand, no magic allowed.

For her exhausted body, it was even harder, and she found herself crying periodically, frustrated at the day's events. She hadn't even put a dent in a twelve year old! After a little while, Jet and Droy walked in and wordlessly pulled up two stools and began to peel. The trio sat in silence for a while.

"Hey Droy," said Jet nonchalantly, "what was your favourite part of the tournament?"

"Hmm," said Droy thoughtfully, "did you see Wendy's face when Levy made a sword?"

"Oh yeah! That was hilarious! She had no idea what happened!"

"Ooh ooh, or how Levy perfectly timed that Bolt after Vernier wore off?"

"Yeah, she couldn't do a thing! But that dragon's breath is scary stuff, eh?"

"I don't think I could stop it. Wouldn't catch me fighting a Dragon Slayer."

Tears streamed down Levy's face, but her mouth was smiling.


	6. The Iron Dragon and the Hydra

It was a typical day at Fairy Tail. Shadow Gear were currently separated. Levy was surrounded by a small mountain of books. Droy was up at the job board arguing with Nab, trying to get him to go on a mission. Jet was engaged in a poker game with Cana, Wakaba and Macao. Wakaba revealed a pair of aces, winning the hand. Jet got up, having nothing left to gamble.

He sauntered over to the job board, ignoring Droy and Nab. He wasn't broke or anything, but a bit of spending money would be nice. He looked to see if there were any decent one man jobs for him to do, but they were all really minor or too big. He wondered if he could convince Levy and Droy to go on a mission.

There was one for monster slaying for a million jewels. He tried to remember the last time they'd done a monster slaying mission and couldn't. Maybe it'd be a nice change of pace? Monsters, while potentially dangerous were generally easy to run from, being big and slow. Based on the reward, it might be out of their league though.

"Oi, Levy," called Jet and she looked up, "Do you know what a…Hy-dra…is?"

"Uhn. It's like a giant snake, but every time you cut its head off, it grows two back."

"So…are they possible to kill?"

"Umm…I've heard that fire stops the growing…but I've also heard that they breathe fire, so I'm not sure."

"They're easy enough to kill," said Gajeel, stepping into the conversation. Jet glared at him, as did Droy who'd been listening in. "But fire don't work. You just gotta keep killing it 'til it's got no steam left."

"And you're an expert are you?" Asked Jet snidely.

"Expert enough, moron. I've killed at least one, which is more than you." He smiled. "Don't tell me ya stupid enough to take that mission. You'd have no chance."

"We haven't taken it yet. We were just discussing it when you butted your head in."

"Oh? What do you say, Shrimp? Think yer ready for some roughhousing with a reptile?"

"Do you mean the Hydra or you?" Levy replied sarcastically. Gajeel laughed.

"Didn't think you had such a dirty mind, Shrimp!" She flushed bright red.

"That's not what I meant! And it's Levy! Le-vy!"

"Don't you have somewhere else to be?" Warned Droy.

"Actually, no. I'm bored, so I'd thought I'd talk with my friends." Jet's face contorted into such fury at the word 'friends' that Levy decided to step in. She walked past Gajeel and up to the job board, steering the conversation away from him and into the specifics of the quest. Gajeel watched on with amusement. After a while, they decided to try it, and left.

* * *

Gajeel stood at the entrance watching them go into the distance. Panther Lily walked up alongside him.

"Is there some reason why you enjoy tormenting those three so much?"

"Who knows? Is fun is all," said Gajeel happily.

"Of all the three people to torture…," started the Exceed.

"Don't finish that sentence," warned Gajeel, turning stony instantly. Lily fell quiet. After a prolonged silence he ventured another question. "What do you see those three as?"

"Weak," he stated immediately, smiling again.

"Let me rephrase that. What do you see her as?"

"Small and Weak," he replied, laughing at his own wit. But then his own words seemed to trouble him. He started down the stairs. "Tell Master I've gone on a mission."

"But you need to hand in a flier to do that."

"Gihihi, the flier for this one's already gone."

If asked, Gajeel would have been unable to give voice to his thoughts. For the longest time, under Phantom Lord, all he respected was strength. Then, during Laxus' Battle of Fairy Tail, Levy had broken a barrier that he and Salamander could not dent with all their might. For the first time, he had seen a type of strength unlike anything he possessed.

But…small and weak. Like how a glass figurine was precious because it was so fragile. If you mishandled it, it was gone forever.

* * *

The Hydra's lair was in the mountains. High in the mountains. So high the air had become noticeably thinner. At the front of the party, Jet made easy progress. As long as he was on his feet and not climbing, he wasn't going to get tired any time soon.

In the middle, Levy was noticeably flagging. Not only was she tired from the climb, but her diminutive stature made climbing over the obstacles in their path harder.

Droy wasn't doing much better at the back. All he could think about was food. His saving grace was using Levy's backside as a beacon to follow. That always seemed to summon energy.

They finally made camp, and Jet went about building a fire while the other two rested. They ate to regain their strength. Droy had been able to pick out some good plants on the way up and they made a delicious stew.

"We probably should get going soon," said Jet, "I'd hate to wait for nightfall."

"According to the map, it's only about a kilometre left to where its lair is suspected to be," noted Levy.

The trio turned at the sound of footsteps.

"Nah, its closer than that."

"Gajeel!" Squeaked Levy.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Shouted Droy, angrily.

"Man. Thought I'd lend a hand as I was bored. I don't need any of the reward money so calm down."

"We don't need your help!" Said Jet through clenched teeth.

"Ooh? You light a fire and cook within smelling distance of a giant monster and you think you've got this all down?" The trio blanched at their mistake. Gajeel got up and walked away, tapping the side of his nose.

"It's not far. It's up to ya if ya wanna come, but I'm going either way." Jet was clenching his fists so hard he thought he might draw blood, but he relented.

"When we get there, leave it to us."

"Oh? Might be fun to watch."

* * *

When they approached the cave entrance, the trio were going to walk in until Gajeel, in the rudest manner possible pointed out that they were all idiots about to walk right in the front door. He led them up around the side to a smaller entrance. It led to a naturally occurring balcony around the huge main chamber. Which was occupied by the Hydra.

It was enormous. It did indeed resemble a large snake, with a saurian head. It was as wide around as a human being (a human like Gajeel, not Levy) and looked fully capable of swallowing a human whole. Especially a bite size morsel like Levy, Gajeel said happily.

It was asleep, and coiled up, at least a hundred metres long, probably more.

"So, you gonna take it?"

"Ye…yeah," said Droy uncertainly.

"Ok," Gajeel said picking up a rock and flinging it at the Hydra's head. "Hey, you've got intruders!"

The leviathan's eye snapped open instantly and it slowly reared up, easily able to reach the balcony. It viewed the quartet with a cold, reptilian intellect.

"Gajeel!" Blustered Levy.

"Hey, fair's fair. Yer already three on one. No need to attack the poor creature while its napping."

The Hydra lashed out with its tail, and they jumped out of the way. While Droy jumped backwards, Jet and Levy had to jump forwards and were now in mid air, heading towards the Hydra's head. Jet shot an arm around Levy's waist and skystepped around the Hydra to land on the lower floor behind it.

It turned to face these two.

"Jet, get me in close," Levy said, still tucked into his arm. "I've got something new."

Jet was surprised, but complied, instantly closing the gap to the beast's midsection.

"Solid Script: Shock!" She shouted, stamping the word directly onto the Hydra's flank. It roared, the much more powerful bolt shocking it head to tail. It spasmed, and by bad luck its midsection jumped sideways in an instant, slamming Jet and Levy, as well as catching them both in the tail end of the lightning attack.

They both cried out, and lay still on the ground.

"Levy! Jet!" Roared Droy. This had the effect of dragging the serpent's attention to him. "Hey don't look down on me! Behold my new, strongest plant! Plant Magic: Daemon Blossom!" The seeds, thrown down to the lower level, erupted into an enormous sunflower-like monster, with a crooked mouth across its centre. It roared. The Hydra blinked once, and then breathed fire onto the flora, cooking it.

Droy balked at seeing his new creation so easily defeated and didn't react in time to the tail sweeping across.

The Hydra reared, roaring in triumph. It turned around at the new smell.

"Sorry," said Gajeel. "I've got nothing against yer, and we probably have a lot in common. We're both monsters after all. But, I have to stop you now."

* * *

Levy awoke outside to find herself near the campfire. Something smelled good. She looked to see Gajeel cooking steaks over the fire. Behind him was the decapitated head of the Hydra, larger than him.

"Kyaaah! You cut its head off. But that means…"

"Morning, Shrimp. That's just its first head. I told ya, yer've just gotta keep going 'til it's got nothing left. Nothing can regenerate without energy."

She quietened, unsure of what to say. Jet and Droy were still unconscious around the fire.

"That new spell looked pretty painful." Levy looked up in surprise. Was that a compliment? "Wouldn't work on me, of course." Aaaaannnd it was gone.

"You won't be able to look down on us forever," said Levy so quietly that she didn't think Gajeel would hear her.

"Oh? Planning to grow a foot and a half, were ya?" Levy blushed like a tomato.

"I'm not short!" She cried reflexively, knowing it wasn't true.

Gajeel cocked an eyebrow. "Are ya even five foot tall?"

"I'm almost five foot!"

"How 'almost' are ya?"

"'Almost' enough!" She turned away, pouting. She was surprised how she rose to Gajeel's bait so easily.

"Gihi, at least I'll always be able to lean on ya!"

"Aaaah! I can't take it anymore! Can we just go? Jet! Droy!"

* * *

Jet and Droy were getting progressively more drunk by the minute.

"Remember when we came back from missions without bandages?" Asked Jet.

"Yeah, that was before some fast-footed idiot wanted to become stronger," replied Droy. "Though 300'000 jewels ain't a bad payday." In the end they'd given Gajeel 100'000 – to make dividing by three easier, of course.

"He's trying to make amends, isn't he?" Said Jet. Droy looked confused. "In his weird way. No tact."

"I can never forgive him," stated Droy coldly.

"I know. But, maybe we can learn to live with him."

A flying beer stein suddenly cracked Jet over the back of the head. As per usual, an argument had broken out and things were flying every which way.

"Which one of you bastards threw that?" He dived into the fray. Droy shrugged and jumped in too.


	7. The S Class Quest, Part 1

"Please can I see, Lu-chan?" Wheedled Levy.

"No, no, it's still too early yet," commented Lucy.

"But are you really trying to write a horror novel?"

"Yeah, I wanted to try something different. They say a change is as good as a rest."

"I must admit, I'm not great with horror," said Levy shyly, "but if it's yours I'm really interested."

"Oh? It's a horror story you want is it?" Erza approached the table. "Then I have a perfect story for you. We've got an S-rank mission to do."

Lucy looked scared. "But we just got back. Do we have to…"

"Come on, Lu-chan, it'll be good inspiration for your book."

Erza picked Levy up by the scruff of the neck, having enjoyed Gajeel's idea. "Not her, you!"

"Eh? Wait, me?"

Lucy covered her mouth, with a devilish expression of amusement. "Come on, Levy-chan, it'll be good for you to get experience before you read my book."

"No, Lu-chan, that's not fair!" Levy protested as Erza carried her away. "Would people stop picking me up?"

* * *

Erza dumped Levy on her ass in front of Jet and Droy.

"S-class?" Questioned Droy. "Why us?"

"Master had been impressed by your team lately. We decided it would be a good idea to test you on an S-class quest. Of course, you need an S-class mage to accompany you."

The trio exchanged glances. It was all a bit sudden. In truth, they were quite happy with their current position, and this seemed like a step too far. However, turning it down might mean they'd never get the opportunity again.

"Well, I can't say I agree we're ready, but if Master Makarov thinks we are, then I'll trust his judgement," said Jet cautiously.

"Good. It is not wrong to be scared by the ordeal. In the coming days, your spirit will be tested to the limit, your body pushed beyond breaking point, and there is a good chance at least two of you will die."

They blanched.

"Probably Levy and Droy, and that's only because Sarusuke will run away first.'"

"Now you're just screwing with us," said Droy.

"It's Jet."

"We will leave tonight at six. Meet me at the train station, platform 4. Pack for a long journey, and I'll explain the mission details on the way. Come on Levy, we should return at once to Fairy Hills to pack."

With that, Erza picked up Levy and went to leave.

"Put me down! What purpose does this serve!?"

Droy left before Jet, and he noticed a bit later that Droy had dropped a seed packet. He picked it up, and noticed that it was a chain plant, one of the ones he could identify. He slipped it into his back pocket and reminded himself to return it to Droy.

* * *

Jet and Droy were at the station first, laden down with supplies and baggage. Erza approached with a huge cart full of luggage. For some reason, she was still carrying a protesting Levy, even while she herself was heavily laden. Her face was crimson from continued embarrassment.

"Sarusuke, Droy, glad you could make it on time."

"It's Jet."

"I'm not luggage!" Huffed Levy. "Put me down!"

"Come on," said Erza ignoring them both. "The train will depart soon."

The train ran through peaceful valleys and hills, but the outside was so dark in the night that you couldn't see anything save the reflections of the carriage's interior. They sat at a table, occupying the four seats around it, Jet and Droy on one side, Erza and Levy on the other.

"So, are you going to tell us about this mission?" Asked Jet.

"Yes, it is about time you knew the details, Sarusuke."

"It's Jet."

"Yes, it a dangerous mission indeed. We are going to exterminate a dark guild, the Shadow Cobras."

"What?" Yelped the trio as one.

"The guild is a small one, with no more than twenty members. Intelligence classifies none of these people as strong. However, they are a subsect of Grimoire Heart and specialise in subterfuge. Our task will involve rooting them out."

"But Erza, we've had trouble against single mages in the past. We can't possibly go against that many."  
"Have no fear, it is my responsibility to take out the majority, and as I said, they are not combat specialists."

"But Erza, don't you think this is a bit out of our league?" Asked Droy.

"Your role will be to stay as a three man team at all times. It is our belief that when fighting as a unit, the power of Shadow Gear increases exponentially."

The trio were silent, pleased with the compliment, but no more assuaged.

"Allow me to offer you another incentive. As you know, we girls at Fairy Hills bathe together."

Jet and Droy flushed, not knowing where this was going.

"Ah," said Erza blushing, "I can remember the time when we all jumped on Levy, and completely naked, we tickled her silly."

"That never happened!" But the two boys had already fainted upright in their chairs, blood dripping out of their noses.

"And now we'll have a nice quiet ride, won't we Levy?"

"Have I done something to you recently, Erza?" Asked Levy, eyebrow twitching with poorly concealed rage.

"Oh, was that inappropriate conversation? Does your team not bathe together?"

"Of course it was! Of course we don't!"

"My apologies. Perhaps I have become accustomed to bathing with Natsu and Gray."

"What kind of relationship do you have?" Erza seemed to ignore Levy's question.

"I need the bathroom. Excuse me." Erza had the window seat, so in order to leave; she picked Levy up out of the way and put her back when she had passed.

"You could have just asked!" This is going to be a long trip, thought Levy.

* * *

They reached the city of Porantos the next morning. It was almost as big as Harjeon, with several districts. Erza led the way out of the station carrying Levy.

"Ok, I've clearly done something to piss you off," said Levy.

"Sarusuke, Droy, bring my luggage, my hands are full."

"Couldn't you just put her down?" Asked Droy.

"It's Jet," he ground out.

They booked an Inn, and Jet and Droy decided to spend their own jewels to upgrade to four beds, despite Erza's thinking that two was enough. While they got settled, Erza used the shower. They declined the offer to join her.

"She's an…odd person," said Jet.

"No kidding," said Droy.

"I'd forgotten. It's been so long since I've spent so much time with her," said Levy. She reached up behind her head. "I think she's wearing my clothes out."

With four people, it took a little while for everyone to wash and change. Erza outlined their plan for the moment. They were to split up and search the city, looking for any strange occurrences. She showed them the guild mark, a cobra in the shape of an 'S' and gave them a strict order: under no circumstances were they to engage the enemy by themselves. They would meet up that night to discuss what they found out.

* * *

Levy drew her coat tighter as snow began to fleck the ground. The temperature had plummeted overnight and it was really cold now. She wished that she had some gloves. She was glad for the fact that she knew she was not a suspicious looking person. She was the sort of person to get overlooked.

Still, as she walked around, she began to realise that she had no idea what she was looking for. In this entire city, there were twenty people walking around that she needed to find. She assumed that they probably lived regularly normal lives, and then met in secret. That made it likely that there was only a single building that they used to meet in.

She began to walk back alleyways, looking for some sign. Perhaps a small guild mark scraped into a doorway or wall. In one back alleyway, she came across a homeless man, sitting in front of a fire to ward off the chill. She took a chance and pressed a few jewels into his hand. She drew the guild mark with solid script.

"Have you seen this mark anywhere?"

He hadn't, but it had given Levy an idea, and as she continued to search back alleyways, she questioned any vagrants she came across. Most seemed happy to answer a question for a few jewels and the smile of a pretty girl. Eventually, as the day dragged on, she got a lead. One claimed to have seen it and gave her directions.

She found it. On a wooden door in a secluded alley was a small guild mark scratched into a doorway. As she passed it she didn't break stride, trying not to draw attention to herself. As she reached the end of the alley, she heard the door open. She didn't stop and walked into the busy street and kept going.

Her heart quickened. Had she been seen? She kept on, never looked back. A few streets later, passing a cake shop, she decided to pretend to window shop and take a glance back. She couldn't see anyone. As she turned away, a hand clapped onto her right shoulder.

"Aah, Elise! So good to see you again!" Heart in her throat she turned to see a huge man smiling down at her. He was wearing a business suit and his head was clean shaven.

"Umm…I think you've got the wrong person," she said quietly. She'd meant to be bolder, but she was panicking so much her voice failed her.

"It's Roger! You remember don't you? Come on, I know a little café around the corner." He tried to steer her into a dark alleyway. Suddenly, the hand tightened and she winced. "Be quiet or I'll break your shoulder," he hissed. She stamped her left hand onto his arm.

"Solid Script: Shock!" She held back the power as the electrical current hit them. She was braced for it; he was not. He fell backwards, smoke pouring from his mouth. She staggered and hit into a wall for support. The passersby had all stopped to look.

"Um…he tried to molest me," she shouted and fled. Not particularly convincing, but a group of people turned on him angrily. She escaped into the falling snow.

* * *

Elsewhere, Jet had hit upon a similar idea. He was searching roofs, where he could run and jump quickly without disturbing the pedestrian traffic below. People looked up at the rush of wind going by but didn't see anything.

The piling snow began to make his footing treacherous, but he used it to practice, judging his speed and weight properly. He began to think it was pointless, but then he noticed it: in the distance there was a person watching him, making no attempt to conceal himself. Thinking that fortune favoured the bold, Jet made to the roof next to him. Up close, he could see what Levy saw, a tall man, clean shaven in a suit.

"Yo, what you doing on the roof in this weather?"

"I could ask you the same thing," came the reply, deep and baritone.

"I've been told not to beat the crap outta you guys, but I'm thinking of making an exception." Jet cracked his knuckles.

"One of your party is a short, blue-haired girl, yes?" Jet's eyes widened.

"You better tell me what you know before I pound you into the dirt."

"I am in constant telepathic communication with my guild. Would you like me to tell my associates to start working this girl over?"

"You're lying! Levy would never be taken by people like you!"

"Gonna take that chance?"

Jet thought he had no choice but to surrender, but unbidden, the thought came into Jet's head. You have a choice; trust this lying weasel or trust Levy to be strong. The next instant his foot cracked into the side of the man's head.

"Why…you…," he gasped. Jet flipped on his hands, driving a spinning kick repeatedly into the man, flooring him. He straddled him and punched one fist into the other hand's open palm.

"You and I, we're gonna have a little chat."

* * *

Without Levy's intellect or Jet's physicality, Droy had come up short. He'd ended up walking in circles without any idea what to do. He'd stopped at a few cafés whenever he got hungry, which was often in the cold weather.

At length, he bumped right into Levy as they rounded a corner.

"Levy!"

"Droy! Thank goodness!" She wrapped her arms around him and held him for a moment. He savoured the moment. "Come on! We should keep moving!"

"What is it?" Asked Droy, confused.

"I found an entrance to their lair. I was followed but took him out. We need to make sure there aren't any others."

"You're hurt," he said, noticing her burns for the first time.

"No, it's nothing, come on!"

They moved through the streets, which were now thinning at the late hour. They decided to cut through a back alley. It was a mistake. Coming the other way was a member of Shadow Cobra. In the darkness of the alley at night, he went in full gear, a purpe cloak that shrouded his form.

Even as Levy and Droy reacted to his presence, the world began to swirl around them.

"Sleep magic?" Cried Levy as the floor rose up to meet her.

"Like Mystogan…," Droy managed to say, slumping against the wall.


	8. The S Class Quest, Part 2

Erza paced in the hotel room. It had passed well beyond the allotted meeting time, and night had well and truly fallen. Her own day of searching had not turned anything up, and she had hoped that the others would have. With every passing moment panic rose, and she feared that she'd taken her friends to their deaths.

Jet entered the room. He didn't look at Erza, his eyes shadowed. Blood dripped from his hands and he walked past her to sit on the bed. He spoke.

"Sorry, Erza. I knew the plan, but I had a run in with one of the Shadow Cobras anyway."

Erza ignored that for now, and began to bandage his hands. "What did you do to earn this injury?"

"I questioned him."

"You beat a man unconscious with your bare fists? That would explain this level of damage."

"I didn't find out much for sure. As far as I can tell, their base extends under this entire city, like a second sewer network. It has hundreds of entrances, meaning that they can disappear and reappear at will. They have a telepath who remains in the base at all times, relaying information to the others."

"So it's like they have eyes everywhere."

"Yes," Jet nodded. "If one person sees something, they all know about it."

"What happened to the man?"

"I didn't want to leave him there, and I thought they might trace him here, so I dropped him off at a council prison, telling them to detain him for 24 hours. They weren't happy with me, but I told them it was official guild business, and then ran. Hopefully they'll hold him until we can dig up their guild."

"Good thinking."

"He said…that they had Levy." Silence passed between the two. "I thought he was lying, but you're the only one here, right?" More silence passed, and Jet got up to leave.

"Sarusuke!"

"I know where some of their entrances are. I'm going to…,"

"Jet!"

Jet stopped and turned around. Erza glared at him with the most resolution he'd ever seen in a human being.

"We'll rescue them, I promise."

* * *

Droy's eyes opened onto a stone chamber. Burning sconces in the walls provided an unnaturally bright light. His arms and legs were shackled to the wall in an x-frame. On the wall next to him so he had a clear view of her was Levy. She too, was shackled, but was so short that her feet didn't reach the floor.

He realized that their coats had been taken, as was his bandoliers, but thankfully that was all. They at least weren't stripped naked. He called out to Levy, and she stirred.

"Oh? Awake are we?" The voice was sickly sweet, cultured and refined. Droy snapped round to the left. On a broad table, laden with devices that he didn't wish to guess the purpose to sat a man. Young and effeminate, with mid-length purple hair and glasses.

"Then I suppose it is time to begin." He picked up one of the devices, a short rod with a lacryma at the end. "Now I believe in many rules when it comes to the game of torture. For a start, I do not remove my subject's clothing. If you let them keep it, you can bring them even lower at a later stage."

"I also believe in being fair. So allow me to explain the rules simply. This is a thunder lacryma. Every time you refuse to answer a question, give me an answer I don't like, or speak out of turn, I'll be giving you five seconds of this."

He walked up to Droy. "What is your name?"

"Droy." He saw no reason to hold back the information.

"Good, you learn quickly. I like that. I should say that I am Minakami." He walked up to Levy, who glared up at him.

"Ooh, scary. And what is your name, little girl?"

Answer, pleaded Droy silently. Minakami grinned, and Levy screamed as she was wreathed in lightning.

"It's Levy! Her name is Levy!" Shouted Droy.

"What did I say about speaking out of turn?" It was Droy's turn to scream.

"Now, unless you want me to go hunting her person for your guild mark, what guild are you from?"

"Fairy Tail…," gasped Droy.

"And what is your mission?"

"To wipe your guild out," he replied, iron faced.

"Oh, how presumptuous!" Minakami smiled an evil grin.

"We'll wipe you out," said Levy quietly. Droy froze. No.

"Oh, did you say something?"

Levy looked up at him in defiance, that confident smile over her face.

"You don't stand a chance."

"Oh? Well, you know what happens now." Droy saw it. Levy's fingers had been desperately reaching around, trying to make contact with the chain that bound her wrists. As he jabbed the torture device into her stomach, she stamped 'Shock' onto the chain, purposefully electrocuting herself for the second time that day.

The wave overloaded the lacryma and sent the bolt into Minakami. He collapsed, completely taken by surprise. Levy didn't fare much better but of course had nowhere to fall. Droy thanked her silently. He had a hidden ace up his sleeve, but it would take time to activate and he had needed the distraction.

"Plant Magic: Bark Armour!" From within his skin, painfully, torturously, the seeds sprouted. Without live-coal to fuel them, they fed directly upon him. He roared in pain, but the plant matter grew to cover his body in a hardened shell of wood.

The spell reinforced his physical strength and he snapped the binds that held him. A recovering Minakami looked up in abject terror as he stood over him. He grabbed him by the throat and lifted him face to face.

"I would pound your face into a red mist, but luckily for you, the woman behind me would never forgive me for that. Luckily for me, we need you unconscious." He then decked him into the stone floor, leaving a considerable crater.

Droy broke Levy's chains, and she collapsed into his arms.

"Never knew you had a spell like that," she said.

"Lucky for you." He lifted her head to look into her eyes. "Never do something like that again. Please. I can't bear to see you in such pain."

The pain in his voice almost broke Levy's heart. "I'm sorry, Droy." She tried to stand on her own feet and found that she wasn't as bad off as she feared, though there was an enormous pain in her gut from when the lacryma had overloaded.

They heard angry shouts and stamping feet from outside the room. The door flung open and four mages entered.

* * *

Jet and Erza had split up, each taking a different door into the enemies' lair. Jet ran down what seemed like an endless maze of corridors. He reminded himself that the base went under the entirety of the city. It was mostly passages, with only a few rooms.

He turned a corner down a long passageway and saw an enemy mage in the distance, shrouded by a purple cloak. As he approached, his vision began to swim, and he jumped backwards. The man spoke, in a low, smooth voice.

"There is nothing you can do. Anyone who enters within a five metre radius of me will be asleep in five seconds. You are helpless."

One. Jet closed the distance.

Two. He slammed a pair of wheeling kicks into the mage's head.

Three. Flipping on to his hands, he drove a powerful flash kick into the man's jaw.

Four. The mage hit the floor unconscious.

"Screw you too."

* * *

Droy's armour had been ripped off in several places, and he bled profusely from a succession of cuts. One of his assailants, a swordsman, was already down. The second, a large man using strength reinforcing magic smashed Droy's left leg, and he screamed, sure that it had broken. However, he wheeled in with his left hand, driving his own reinforced strength up into his chin.

The third, a short, humourless man with shocking orange hair wielded gravity magic. He increased the weight on Droy, and his damage leg screamed at him in protest. He extended his left arm and a vine whipped out, ensnaring the man and dragging him into the gravity well. He smashed down, using the gravity to boost his strength, knocking the man out, if not outright killing him.

Levy battled the fourth, a slender man using light magic. Travelling as a bolt of light, he easily evaded her Solid Script. Using a bright light, he blinded her, and then hit her with a column of light magic. As she was about to fall, he made to grab her, overconfident. At zero range, Levy summoned Fire, completely engulfing him. Screaming, she maintained the spell, and at last he went down, burned from head to toe.

The pair collapsed, utterly exhausted. Droy's armour faded and withered. He gingerly tested his leg. He was becoming more and more sure that it was broken. Levy was rubbing her eyes, trying to regain her vision.

Blinded and lamed, in the middle of the enemies' lair.

* * *

Jet came across another enemy mage. This one was female, dressed in long flowing robes. A remote magician, three objects floated above her head, like Bixlow.

Laser beams slashed at Jet.

"You're in my way!" He roared.

* * *

Droy had stolen the man's sword to use as a walking stick. He inched down the long corridors at a terrifyingly slow pace. Levy clutched his right arm, still unable to see properly. At length, they came to a huge chamber. Doorways were on all sides of the room.

"How ironic. In trying to escape, you come to our very hub."

At the centre of the room was a huge throne. A man sat upon, legs crossed, head resting against a hand nonchalantly. His face and clothes were refined, long, black hair sweeping down his shoulders. Behind him stood a short man in martial regalia. His hair was shaved back to a topknot.

Maximillan Vergil, the Guild Master of the Shadow Cobras, and Wei-sein, his right hand man.

"Levy, get behind me," said Droy hopelessly.

"The strength of my guild lies not in its fighting strength, but rather in information. With my psychic connection, I have followed your progress and allowed you through, knowing you have no chance of defeating me. Right now, your guild mate is fighting losing battles one after the other, completely lost. The woman, Titania is it, now faces over half of my guild at once."

"And you two, you die here." Wei-sein sprang forward so fast that there was no time to react. Droy shielded Levy and was smashed sideways by a brutal kick. As he hit the ground, pain flared from his damaged leg.

Blind, Levy was less than helpless. Cruelly, the martial artist simply pushed her over. Grinning, he raised a leg high over head to bring it crashing down on her.

With a sound like a clap of thunder, Wei-sein was catapulted sideways at high velocity, spinning end over end to slam into the far wall. Levy's eyes began to refocus on the man standing over her. Shirt and jacket gone, one eye closed, blood streaming from a hundred cuts.

"I said you're in my way!" Roared Jet.


	9. The S Class Quest, Part 3

Jet took in the bedraggled appearance of his comrades with a single glance. While there was joy at their survival, it was completely lost amongst the rage that clouded his every thought. He turned to glare at Maximilian Vergil, who was descending from his throne, clapping.

"Very good. I had no idea that you'd make your way here so fast. I'm honesty impressed."

Jet was in his face lashing out with kicks at the speed of sound. Vergil dodged them all, and drove a fist into Jet's bloody flank, sending him crashing back in agony.

"I am a telepath. My speciality is to be linked to my comrades at all times, but it is no tough matter to read the thoughts of one individual. I can see your every move before you make it."

"Bastard," Jet hissed.

"Read the thoughts of one individual?" Queried Levy, joining Jet. She stressed the word 'one'.

"Levy, stay back. You're in no condition to fight."

"And you are?" She said with a devious smile. Jet couldn't help but smile in response.

"Sorry guys, but I have no seeds left. I can't help," Droy commented miserably.

"Oh no?" Asked Jet, holding a seed packet.

"That's…," croaked Droy in disbelief.

"Sorry man, you dropped this the other day, and I stuffed it in my back pocket. Meant to give it back."

"I'll forgive you this one time," Droy said, catching the packet. Five Chain Plant seeds. Not much, but it'd have to do.

Levy began to speak. "Droy, your leg is hurt, so support us from there. Jet, get in his face and make him move. I'll find the opening to attack."

"Sounds like a plan to me!" Said Jet.

"Let's show this guy what team Shadow Gear can do!" Cried Droy.

Vergil, advancing towards them again found Jet inches from his face. He ducked and dodged through his barrage of attacks. Just as he was about to lash out, a chain plant erupted out of the ground, blocking the punch from hitting Jet.

At that moment a Bolt struck out from Levy, but Vergil stepped backwards avoiding the current. He jumped as Jet came in again. Normally Jet might have been able to follow him, but had overextended and rolled forwards.

Three chain plants shot out into the air and Vergil jumped between them, reading Droy's mind to follow the movements. Levy saw an opportunity. Shooting a Solid Script: Water, the rush of liquid surged along the vines, causing the water to spray droplets in all directions. While he dodged the stream, water speckled his eyes, causing him to lose focus.

The last chain plant snared his foot, and Levy caught him with a bolt. Then Jet was behind him, performing an overhead kick to send him flying back down to the ground.

"There's still half my guild left…," he coughed. The wall on one side of the room suddenly blew in, with several figures hurled amidst the debris.

"Heaven's Wheel! Blumenblatt!"

Blood sprayed, and in an instant Titania took out every remaining guild member of the Shadow Cobras. She had suffered absolutely zero damage. As she exquipped back to her regular form, she noted the prostrate form of the guild master with satisfaction. She turned to Shadow Gear.

"Why are you three so damaged?"

"So mean!" They cried.

* * *

Things moved quickly. The law enforcement happily accepted the Dark Guild's destruction and took them into custody. Shadow Gear were patched up at the hospital and then they were on their way.

On the train, the trio had quickly fallen asleep, their bandaged bodies resting against each other. Utterly drained, they slept the entire way home. Erza watched them with growing fondness. They'd earned a good rest. All three of them had battled through extreme damage for each other. They were a wonderful part of Fairy Tail.

They'd returned amidst much acclaim. The completion of their first S-class quest. It was slightly ruined by Erza carrying Levy through the door, though she was too exhausted to fight anymore. It apparently coincided with the Strauss siblings returning from their own tough quest and a party was held, and much alcohol did flow.

"Hey, Levy drink up!" Roared Cana drunkenly.

"N..no, I'm not good with alcohol," said Levy politely.

"Ah, ah? Even the fumes are making you go red. Maybe such a little girl needs a bit of practise?"

"Now, Cana, " said Master Makarov approaching the table, "Let her be, it's her party." Cana lost interest and moved over to start tormenting Wakaba and Macao instead.

"Levy, I've been hearing a few things about your mission and I must say that I am impressed." Levy flushed. "It sounds like you have become to overcome your biggest flaw."

"What's that?" Asked Levy, confused.

"The destruction of the body."

"Huh?"

"Bruises fade, bones mend and cuts heal. When in the world we must accept that there are times when we have to sacrifice our own bodies. Our bodies are a kind of armour, one that protects our important areas. The larger a person is, the more they have to defend themselves. Perhaps that is why Elfman is such a bull-headed oaf."

"Hey," came a voice from the background.

Levy smiled, but was intent on Makarov's words.

"Your body is small, and I know that it bothers you. It is alright. Know your limits and work to those. Accept that there is only so much you can do, and if someone else can do more, then that is fine too. It is not how much you can take, but the fact that you are overcoming your fear of taking any damage at all. I am proud of you, Levy."

Levy was watery eyed, but managed to hold back any tears. "Thank you, Master."

He smiled. "Know that the pain you feel now is only temporary, and it is the sign of a job well done. I'll have a similar talk with Jet and Droy tomorrow. But I think they're both a little drunk for it now."

They both laughed and that's when a squabbling Natsu and Gray knocked Levy's injured shoulder as they went past.

"Kyaaah!"

"Natsu! Gray!" Makarov activated Titan, growing to an enormous size. They quailed before him. "Learn to sense the tone!" The scuffle was very abruptly…squashed.

* * *

"Good morning Lu-chan!" Levy beamed as Lucy opened her front door.

"Ahh, a little quieter, Levy-chan. My head hurts." Levy entered her apartment.

"Oh?" Said Levy loudly. "Maybe you shouldn't have drunk so much!"

"That's unfair," Lucy said, clutching her head.

"All's fair in love and war, Lu-chan." Lucy slapped her injured shoulder and Levy's whole body shivered. She clutched Lucy's chair for support.

"That's the war part," said a deadpan Lucy.

"Well played, Lu-chan," gasped Levy. "I'll be quieter."

"Why are you here?"

"I came to see if you'd made any progress on your novel."

"Oh. Not really. It was a fun diversion, but I think I'm going to return to my main book."

"Ok," said Levy, looking disappointed.

"How are you, Levy-chan?" Lucy's face had gotten serious and she pulled up a chair at the table and Levy joined her.

"What do you mean Lu-chan?"

"Recently, it seems like every mission you go on, you come back hurt."

"Not too different from you, is it?" She said seriously.

"It's different, and you know it," said Lucy sternly.

"Why?" Lucy floundered around for the right words. She wanted to tell Levy that she worried about her because she was weak, but was trying to find a nicer way to put it. In the end, she reached over and took Levy's hands in her own.

"Tell me that your alright, please." Levy seemed taken aback, but smiled in that bright way of hers.

"Unh. I'm fine Lu-chan. I've never felt happier! I'm gonna get stronger!"

Lucy seemed assuaged. She grabbed a ream of paper nearby. "This is what I wrote for the horror novel. It's only about two chapters, but have a look."

Levy seemed overjoyed and started reading. As she went, her expression gradually fell. "It's awful."

"What, why?"

"Well, the main villain is hammy, and it's already obvious that it's this character here, just in a mask…kyaah!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, did I lean on your shoulder?"

"I'll try to be more constructi…kyaaah?"

"Or we could just leave it?" Smiled Lucy.

"Or we could just leave it."

"Great idea, Levy-chan."

* * *

In an expansive field on the outskirts of Fairy Tail's city, Jet crashed over in the grass, exhausted. That in itself was unusual. He could run the entire 24 hour endurance race at top speed without stopping. Some of it was his injuries. His torso was bound with gauze. Some of it was that he was fairly sure that he was going faster.

A new level of speed…it's something that he dreamed of. He stood, and resumed his new practice regime. Instead of running, he began to focus his magical power into his legs. More and more he put in until he thought he would explode. This was the key. Learning to properly focus and manipulate his magic.

He thought back to the mission months ago. Kirion. The man had moved so fast he couldn't see him. Never again.

He took off across the fields like a bolt of lightning.

* * *

Droy was tending to his allotment. He'd had to expand as his arsenal had increased in size, and he needed more room to grow them all. He expertly tended to plants. He was so at peace here. It was just him and peaceful, rewarding work.

His leg was much better. The guild generally let their injuries heal naturally, but for such a serious one, Wendy had helped. His leg now actually hurt less than the rest of him.

His mind wandered back to seeing Levy in the torture chamber.

"Never again. I'll get stronger. I'll never let her do that again."


	10. The 24 Hour Endurance Race

**Alternate take on episode 75 of the anime. Got annoyed how Levy just drops out of the plot halfway through.**

* * *

"Coooooooooool!" Shouted Jason. "Welcome to the annual Fairy Tail 24 hour endurance road race! Cooooooooool!"

"Look, it's Jet! This year's favourite to win, after his dominating presence last year! And it looks like his fashion sense has improved! Coooooooool!"

"Hey!"

"Just rumours man, just rumours!"

The assembled Fairy Tail wizards were getting ready. No one wanted the punishment. Erza was pushing for victory, and Gajeel seemed to be agreeing. Natsu apparently had some secret weapon.

Droy was bored. He would come about the middle, all things considered. No need to panic. He wasn't the fastest or slowest. This seemed like a huge waste of energy to him, but there was no way in hell was he taking a punishment.

Levy was in fairly good spirits. Running was not her worst attribute. Being small had the advantage that there was less of her to actually move. Her stride was short, but her stamina wasn't too bad. She wouldn't be anywhere near the front, but she should be ok.

Master explained the rules, to get the wyvern scale at the top of the mountain and return, and the prohibition on flying magic. They made their way to the start line.

"Levy, watch me start," said Jet.

"There's no way I have time for that!"

"C'mon Levy, he just wants to look cool in front of you," advised Lucy.

"Lu-chan, you probably don't realize it, but there's no way I could watch his start."

Makarov set the race going with a blast of magical energy, followed by a roar of thunder as Jet rushed off showering everyone with a cloud of dust. As the guild picked themselves up, Lucy looked on amazed. "W…well, didn't see him, right?" Said Levy. There was a burst of fire as Natsu took off using his Fists of the Flame Dragon as boosters, and then the whole guild was gone.

Levy and Lucy, realizing that they were the last ones left, took off.

* * *

Faster.

Faster.

Faster.

Jet was ecstatic. He'd done it! Now he needed to rename his magic to accommodate. Speed Magic: High Speed became Speed Magic: First Gear. But now he was shifting in Second Gear. The landscape blurred by. It was taking some getting used to, but his reaction time had gone up as well.

He reached the peak, supposed to be twelve hours away, in fifteen minutes.

* * *

Droy climbed out of the hole Reedus had made for him and Warren, pushing his comrade down as he did so, ignoring his protests.

"You asshole," he glowered. "It. Is. On! Bark Armour!" He took off with boosted speed.

* * *

Levy was exhausted. She'd been in last place with Lucy for some time, but then she'd taken off with Virgo's help, leaving her behind. And she'd tried to help her!

Then she'd come across Evergreen, Max and Bisca in a rune trap, and helped them out, costing her five minutes (though she'd needed the rest by that point.) They thanked her, and then Evergreen knocked her over and kept running. She was getting annoyed by people she'd helped screwing her over.

Gray's Ice Floor had melted by the time she'd reached it, but it still made footing treacherous and cost her more time. It was quite hard to tell, as people branched off into different paths, but she was fairly sure that she was in last place.

Her magic was no help. Her speed was slow, and it appeared that her stamina had failed her on the mountain slopes. She sorely hoped that someone else had been thoroughly trapped, or she was in trouble.

She reached the summit and realized another problem: she couldn't see any Wyvern Scales! So many had gone that she had to forage, and she lost another ten minutes. From the mountain top, she looked up into the clear starry sky. She tried to make that the memory she would keep of this day.

* * *

Jet finished long before Levy made it the top. He'd considered taking a nap for dramatic effect, but decided that he wasn't some kind of comedic relief character in an anime and just finished.

"You almost halved last year's time," noted Makarov. Jet smiled broadly.

"I've become stronger!" Makarov placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm proud of you, Jet." Jet choked up. "Now, who will get the punishment? Bahohoho!" Makarov ruined the moment.

* * *

In the end, Droy came in fifteenth. Disappointing, but he slowly realized how far up he was on last year and felt happier.

"Yo, Droy! Good time!"

"Shut up, Jet," he said, gasping for breath.

"Did you see Levy out there?" Droy frowned.

"I hope she's doing ok."

* * *

Screw everyone, screw the guild, screw running, screw mountains, screw life.

Levy was trudging. One foot after the other. She hadn't even seen Happy for crying out loud. For the first time in her life she wished that she was even littler so she could have the stamina the Exceeds apparently had. And shouldn't Reedus be slow, or a drunken Cana or Wakaba the smoker?

The morning sun was starting to blaze down. She'd somehow even managed to hit one of Fried's left over traps, though she was able to dismantle it. It did seem like she was getting faster at it.

"Yo, Levy!" She looked up to see Jet approaching.

"You shouldn't be here," she said, turning away and pouting. "If the cam-lacrymas catch you we'll both be disqualified."

"Well, uh…"

Levy blinked. "I'm the last one aren't I? Master sent you to get me."

Jet rubbed the back of his head. He wanted to say something supportive, but was afraid it would just come across condescending. Levy trudged over to him and pushed past.

"I'm finishing this on my own two feet. I've not come this far to be carried the rest of the way."

"I'll keep you company."

* * *

Levy fell over the finishing line with an expression of 'don't talk to me'. Thankfully, most people had left by that time, leaving only Master, Mira and Droy waiting for her. Master came over dragging a huge sack.

"Screw you, screw the guild, screw running, screw mountains, screw life. Just give me the punishment."

"First I'll need your Wyvern Scale as proof." She handed it over and he put it in the sack with the rest. "You came last because you have a pure spirit, and seeing your friends in trouble, you naturally went to help them. There is no shame in that."

"Master…"

"Your punishment is – to put these Wyvern Scales back where they came from. Bahohoho!"

Levy turned pure white and her soul flew out of her mouth.

"Jet…help…"

He hefted the bag onto his shoulders, straining under the weight. "Be back in half an hour!"

"I forbid you to do her punishment for her," said Makarov sternly.

"Can't stop me!" And Jet took off. For a simple smile from Levy, he'd bear this burden.


	11. Vs the Thunder Legion

It was a hot day. Everyone was either relaxing in the sun or trying to find shade. Levy was sitting quietly in the guild's main hall, reading a new novel she'd bought. She was wearing her bathing outfit, a red top and pale shorts to try and stay cool.

Evergreen waltzed into the guild hall in a foul mood. Whenever they returned, Fried and Bixlow formed friends much easier and spent more time together. Perhaps it was because they were both men, though she guessed that Fried swung the wrong way for that.

Whatever the reason, she was looking to vent some frustration, which meant someone was going to suffer. The guild was nearly empty. Her eyes alighted on the petite blunette with the predatory gaze of a hawk.

She sat down right next to her putting her arm around her shoulders, making Levy jump and squeal.

"Evergreen?"

"Levy! When was the last time we sat down and had a nice girl to girl talk?"

"Actually…I don't think we've ever…," began Levy.

"How's the boyfriend situation?"

"Well, I'm not really looking…,"

"Oh?" Replied Evergreen with fake sadness. "Still, huh? Maybe it's because of this." She jabbed a finger in to the side of Levy's breast. Evergreen famously had no sense of personal boundaries. Well, other people's anyway.

"What are you doing?" Levy squealed, flushing.

"I'm just asking, do you think you have no boyfriend because of your flat chest?"

"Even if that was the case, what could I do about it?"

Evergreen nodded sagaciously. "You poor little thing." She pushed her own bosom out. "I can't imagine what it must be like having the physique of a ten year old boy." Levy pouted, but Evergreen just grabbed her cheek. "How cute! Just like a child! But you're seventeen, huh?"

Levy exploded. "Evergreen! Get lost! It's not like you have a boyfriend either!" Evergreen leaned in close, looking into Levy's eyes. Levy shivered, remembering the miss Fairy Tail competition.

"Oh? You want to compare you and me?"

"N…no, just leave m…," stammered Levy. Evergreen put her other arm around Levy's hips and drew her in uncomfortably close.

"Don't be shy Levy, it'll be good for you to see what a real woman feels like."

"Evergreen." They both looked up to see Fried approach them. Bixlow stood behind him, watching with amusement.

"Leave her alone, you're better than that."

"You think?" Murmured Bixlow. "You think, you think?" Repeated his dolls.

"I'm just telling Levy that she needs to buck up her ideas if she ever wants to land a man."

"She looks fine to me," said Fried. Levy blushed at the compliment.

"Oh don't get excited," said Evergreen cruelly. "Knowing Fried's persuasion, that means he thinks you do look like a ten year old boy!"

Fried flushed. "What? I'm not gay!"

"You think?" Murmured Bixlow. "You think, you think?" Repeated his dolls.

Levy felt the situation spiralling out of control. She forced herself out of Evergreen's embrace. Her instinct was to flee for safety, but instead she turned to face her abuser. "I am a mage of Fairy Tail! I won't take this from you!"

Fried and Bixlow were impressed by her resolve. Evergreen stood, towering over her. "You think you can take me on, squirt?"

"I…uh…I mean…Kyaaaaah!" Levy's body suddenly burned and she was pitched onto her backside. Evergreen's Goblin Dust, though at low power.

"Want a round two?"

"Oi, Ever! Isn't that going a bit far?" Shouted Fried.

"She started it." In truth, Evergreen had been surprised by her own vindictiveness. The little girl screamed 'bully me!' to her. She reached down, offering a hand to help Levy up. Levy reached up and took it.

"Solid Script: Char!" Evergreen recoiled as her hand felt like it had been set on fire. The blunette was smiling shyly as she got to feet. "That makes it even."

Bixlow laughed. Evergreen looked down on Levy with such rage that he tailed off.

"You little bitch! You think I'll let you get away with that?!"

"Oi, Ever, you stop right now! We're guildmates!" Fried shouted.

The moment stretched out uncomfortably.

"If you really want a fight, why don't we make it three on three?" They turned to see that Jet and Droy had entered. "The three of us have spent a lot of effort in increasing our battle power. If you three think us so weak, maybe we should prove you wrong."

"No," said Fried. "This has all gotten out of control…"

"It sounds good to me," said Levy, to everyone's surprise. She was glaring at Evergreen. "I don't care how bad a mood you are in, I won't let you look down on me."

"Brahahaha! Maybe we should, Fried. Can't have the lower class looking down on us."

Fried sighed. "I agree to your terms, but this is a spar, nothing more. Perhaps it will be a good idea to exchange feelings with our fists, but this stays on the battleground!"

* * *

"I'm not fighting Evergreen," said Levy. "You are."

"Me?" Jet was a little surprised. "I'd have thought you would want to get back at her."

Levy shook her head. "If we want to win, there is a better strategy."

* * *

An hour later, they assembled in the guild grounds. The Raijinshu never seemed to feel heat, always wearing the same layered clothing. A small crowd had gathered to watch the fools who had dared take on the Thunder Legion.

Evergreen looked at Levy with murder in her eyes. Fried seemed disinterested, but didn't he always? Bixlow seemed raring to fight, no matter the reason.

There was a brief pause, and the six people tensed. Evergreen launched herself at Levy.

"Fairy Magic: Leprech-," she was cut off in mid sentence as Jet kicked out at her face. She backed away into the sky and Jet followed her.

Startled by Jet's ability but not undone, she unleashed her fairy powder. It moved so quickly that no one should have been able to respond to it, but Jet did, dashing around her in the sky.

Fried looked up at the aerial dogfight with moderate interest. It was more than he expected from the runner. "I see. You believe that your Solid Script will match up better against my Jutsushiki." As the Fire was about to hit him he dispelled it with a cast of his runes. He instantly followed it up with a Darkness Script, and Levy dispelled it in turn. He began to cast repeatedly, and she dispelled each one.

"Ikai, my babies!" Roared Bixlow. "Ganzuga Formation!" Letting forth a stream of rapid fire bolts at Droy with his dolls. Smoke cleared to reveal that his Wallnut shielded all of the shots. A knuckle plant erupted at Bixlow's feet and it was only be the extreme limit of his athletic ability that he dodged all of them. "Brahahaha! Interesting!"

Fried continued to cast, taking a step forward each time he did so. Though Levy was able to dispel all of the runes, Fried made it into close range. "Yami no Ecriture: Pain!" The word sprung up on Levy's right bicep and she squealed at the pain, but she'd been ready. Closer. More and more pain words were tattooed on her skin, but she shoved into Fried's body.

Taken aback by her moving forward, Fried could not stop her as she launched Char with the right hand and Shock with the left. He cried out, stumbling back. He had just managed to erect a runic shield before it hit, but the damage was still there. He could not stop her as she cast 'Cascade', causing a pillar of water to throw him back.

Evergreen cried out in frustration. "Either stay still or attack, damn you!"

"You're the boss!" In an instant, Evergreen was hurtling towards the ground from the unseen blow. She barely managed to kill her momentum in time to smack into the ground.

"Baryon Formation!" The whirling light above Bixlow's head glowed with the force of a small sun. He didn't plan to hit Droy with such a powerful attack, and instead slammed it into the ground at his feet. Activating his Bark Armour, Droy ran through the smokescreen and took Bixlow by surprise, punching him clean across the field.

The Raijinshuu gathered in shock. "Now!" Cried Levy. Jet, going as fast as he could blazed a circle around the Thunder Legion, hemming them in a whirlwind cloud.

"Plant Magic: Bomb Plant!"

"Solid Script: Bomb!"

The two spells threw explosive devices into the whirlwind from above.

"Shit!" Roared Bixlow.

"From above?" Said Fried in surprise.

"There's nowhere to dodge!" Exclaimed Evergeen.

There was an enormous explosion and Jet rejoined the other two in line, Droy's armour receding. The crowd looked on in astonishment. _Did Shadow Gear just beat the Thunder Legion?_

"Just kidding, Brahahahaha!" Heads snapped up to see the trio in the sky, Bixlow on his dolls, Fried using Yami no Ecriture: Wings, and Evergreen in her usual faerie-like state.

"Completely avoided?" Said Levy quietly.

"Brahahaa! Not bad! Ikai, my Babies!" Bixlow's dolls slammed bodily into Droy, and as they passed, flipped around, sending him hurtling forward on the energy blasts they fired. Bixlow met him coming the other way and knocked him into the sky.

As Jet rushed Evergreen, she lowered her glasses. Jet threw his arm over his eyes, knowing instantly that he'd screwed up. Ever's machine gun: Leprechaun hit him full on, and she dashed forward, delivering a slice with her fan to end it.

"Yami no Ecriture: Darkness!" Fried transformed into a black daemon and rushed Levy. He cut through her Guard with a single swipe and with a second sent her flying. Shadow Gear landed in the earth, unmoving. The Thunder Legion stood tall.

A silence passed over those that had assembled to watch. Shadow Gear were slowly picking themselves up.

"Did you see? Did you see?" Shouted Levy happily.

"We almost beat 'em!" Shouted Jet.

"We almost beat the Thunder Legion!" Droy sounded shell shocked. The trio cheered and hugged, and the crowd burst into applause. "We are Team Shadow Gear!"

"Humph, good enough," said Evergreen, apparently sated.

"They're getting better…," noted Fried.

"Brahaha! That was fun," said Bixlow. "Fun, fun," repeated his dolls.

That strategy was probably the midget's, thought Evergreen. Not bad, not bad.


	12. The Trap, Part 1

On one average day, Master Makarov called Team Shadow Gear to have a private talk.

"Earlier today, we received this," he said, placing a job flier on the table. The trio looked at it with interest.

1'000'000

Please help; we require assistance, from one of the following each:

A Solid Script Mage

A Plant Mage

A Speed Mage

They blinked in unison.

"That's oddly specific," said Droy at last.

"It's not unheard of for jobs to specify certain mages," said Makarov slowly, "but this is simply bizarre. It seems as if someone is asking for you without knowing your names."

"A trap?" Levy's expression was thoughtful. "Have we made any enemies?"

"All of Shadow Cobra should be in prison," said Jet. "The old guy who led the bandits? He escaped."

"He didn't see my magic," said Droy. "He couldn't ask for me."

"Kirion beat us," said Levy quietly, "He wouldn't have a grudge."

"That little girl? But would she want to go against us again?" Jet seemed doubtful.

"How many-," Makarov cut himself off midsentence. "I won't tell you not to go. The job may well be legitimate. And if someone is gunning for you, dealing with it now would be for the best. But, I request that you take help. If it's a trap, there'll be no money in it, so you'll have to ask people."

Levy was suddenly yanked out of her chair by the scruff.

"What's that, shrimp? Need a hand?"

"Gajeel!"

"Gihi, if there's a fight in it, I'm in!"

"I'll also lend a hand," said Panther Lily, hovering over his shoulder.

"Oh? How nice to have such reliable nakama," said Makarov. Jet and Droy didn't look too pleased, but they went about rounding up whatever help they could find.

"As a man, I cannot let my friends walk into a trap alone!" Elfman didn't comment that Mira and Lisanna had gone on a quest without him. They'd said something about there being 'no men allowed', and Elfman had cried for an hour after hearing that statement.

"Brahahaha! No problem! It'll be a nice change." Bixlow was bored anyway. Fried was stuck in town with some family matter, and Ever had waltzed off to the spa since she couldn't go on a mission.

They made an odd, ragtag group. The three members of Team Shadow Gear, and the three tall, powerful men. And one Exceed.

"Thank you all so much!" Levy beamed one of her best smiles. Jet and Droy smiled too.

"Gihi!"

"Man!"

"Brahaha!"

An odd group indeed.

* * *

It was a long train ride. They were heading to Catakan, a moderately sized city to speak with their mayor, a Mr Verdice, who had apparently sent the quest. The clash of personalities was interesting to say the least. Shadow Gear sat around one table and the other three around the table opposite.

Gajeel was surprisingly quiet. The train was seemingly giving him some mild discomfort, though nothing like what Natsu got. It was unusual for him and he didn't like it, but mostly kept to himself. The concept of showing weakness was not something he liked.

Bixlow and Elfman seemed to have bonded as verbal combatants very quickly, but Levy had yet to see conversations with such little substance. There were a lot of words flying around, but little meaning. It was also quite a volume.

Panther Lily generally liked the members of Shadow Gear and sat on the table with them, engaging them in conversation, since Gajeel wasn't up for it. Despite his gruff and workmanlike attitude, when they had all fallen asleep on the long journey, he slept in Levy's arms, seemingly enjoying the attention.

* * *

They got off at the station. They had made plans. The three tagalongs had booked a separate inn from theirs. It would look like Shadow Gear were here by themselves. They would all find their respective inns, and then Shadow Gear would go to see the mayor. If they didn't make contact within the hour, the backup crew would storm the mayor's mansion. The devil in Levy's mind sort of wanted to see that; the trio would make an imposing entrance for sure.

And so Levy, Jet and Droy entered the mayor's mansion. Mr Verdice was a small, pleasant sort of man. He was all hospitality, offering them drinks, seats and anything else they might need. It was a relaxing enough environment, but they were all on edge.

"So, Mr Verdice," Levy said at last. "What do you need three such specific mages for?" The man sat back, tenting his fingers.

"I realise the flier must have looked odd. What we have is three separate problems, and it was decided to ask for them all at the same time. I know, I know, three separate fliers would have made getting any one mage easier, but such is the life of a bureaucrat; sometimes you get outvoted by incompetent halfwits." His eyes were twinkling as he insulted his parliament. It seemed cathartic to the old man.

Jet was definitely warming to the old man, but still had his reservations. "What do you need me for? I'm, the speed mage, by the way."

"We've had a problem with our power supply. Our river dried up, and our dam stopped producing power. We diverted another river, and the water is flowing, but the mechanisms are seized. I don't pretend to understand the mechanics, but my engineers tell me the turbines need a huge jot of energy to get going, something you could provide."

Jet raised an eyebrow. He'd already picked three holes in that story, and it seemed the threads got looser with each passing moment. Surely a lightning mage...

"As for the plant mage," he turned to Droy. "It's quite simple. We've had a drought and our plants are suffering. We had hoped that you'd be able to at least advise us, if not give us more direct help."

Droy shrugged. It was an easy enough task; though perhaps time consuming depending on the amount that needed doing. What was bizarre was the concept that they'd had to ask for help, from so far afield. Surely they had people who could do this?

"And young Miss McGarden, in our library, we've uncovered a vast selection of ancient tomes. We need expert help in deciphering them."

Levy blinked. "But…the flier asked for a Solid Script mage. That is a job for a lexicologist."

Verdice frowned. "Can you not do it?"

"Well, yes, it happens to be one of my specialties…," she said.

"So, that works out well, doesn't it?"

The trio looked at each other. None of them were sure if this meeting had been reassuring or troubling. All of the stories had problems that could be overlooked individually, but as a whole seemed like one big trap. However, Verdice had been so welcoming and charming, and the explanation of a bunch of politicians who didn't know what they were doing did explain a lot.

"Thank you Mr Verdice." Levy stood, speaking for the group. "If you can supply us with directions, we'll retire for the night and make a start first thing tomorrow morning."

"Splendid. My thanks to you all."

* * *

Trying to remain as discreet as possible, Jet had dropped a message to the others with super speed. No one could trace him.

Gajeel reclined on his bed, munching a bag of nails. "I don't like any of this."

"If Verdice is a man, we can trust him." Bixlow and Gajeel exchanged a glance at the stupid comment.

"Think things through, Ox-brain," said Gajeel snidely.

"If it is a trap," said Bixlow, "Then they'll be separated, vulnerable. I don't like the idea of that at all."

"At all, at all," replied his dolls.

"That's what we're here for," said Panther Lily.

"Right," said Gajeel. "Each of us will tail one of 'em. If there's any trouble, we'll be ready to help."

* * *

The next morning, Gajeel had followed Levy to the library. While she had walked along the streets, Gajeel had followed along the rooftops, watching for trouble. He kept focusing on Levy, and almost lost his footing at one point. Lily made to grab him.

"I'm fine!" Gajeel did not like showing weakness at all.

"Oh? Seeing something distracting down there?"

Gajeel ignored Lily's question and stalked on. They watched her enter the library and they waited. They quickly realized how dull their day was about to become. It would probably be best to work shifts. Gajeel looked down on the building with all the human traffic coming and going.

"Something's wrong."

"What?" Lily was confused. "Nothing's happened."

Gajeel leapt from the building, impacting the street below with the force of a small meteor. What was it? He didn't know, but something had set him off. He ran inside the library.

"Shrimp! Hey, Shrimp!" He called for her, stalking through the large building. He found no trace of her, not even her smell.

She was gone.

* * *

Elfman watched Jet approach the dam from a distance. As he stood guard, he noticed a tiny flash in the distance. Was that a turbine starting? But there was no noise, no movement.

Unbidden, he started walking towards the dam, then running. The structure was deserted and ancient. There was no one there.

* * *

With his babies flying cover, Bixlow got the best view anyone did. A man approached Droy as he worked in the field, engaging him in trivial conversation. As he got close, he summoned a teleportation seal. The pair disappeared in a flash.

Bixlow had seen the whole thing and was still powerless to help.

* * *

"What the hell is going on!" Gajeel was raging, angrier than anyone had seen him for a while. "Her scent just ended in mid-air!"

"Right," said Bixlow. "I've already explained that I saw a teleportation spell. That would make sense." Gajeel fumed, not wanting logical answers to his frustrations.

"I saw the same flash as Bixlow. So I guess they've all been taken to the same place. What a cowardly tactic for a man."

"Come on," roared Gajeel storming out of the room.

"Oi, where are we going?"

* * *

The entire front wall of Mr Verdice's office blew in. Four figures stood there; a Panther, a Knight, a Monster, and the devil himself.

Gajeel cracked his knuckles. "We'd like a word with you."


	13. The Trap, Part 2

Jet came to. His head was swimming, and the world refused to stay in place. It kept moving around by itself. He staggered to his feet, trying to take in his surroundings. He was in a large room, almost like a football stadium in terms of size. The ceiling was far above him.

Everything appeared to be made of some kind of white stone, giving the room a sterile feel. At one end, there was a door mounted high on the wall, with stairs running up on both sides. The door opened, and Jet tensed. If he'd been at one hundred percent, he might have rushed it, but his body wasn't there yet.

A single figure came through the door and began to descend the steps. Jet's heart seized in sudden fear.

Kirion.

The man who had single-handedly dismantled Shadow Gear, and now Jet was alone. The man reached the bottom of the stairs and walked across to stand far apart from Jet, like gladiators at the Colloseum.

"Hello, Jet. Long time no see, am I right?" Kirion's voice was warm and inviting.

"What do you want? The last time we met, you won! We're the ones who should have a grudge, not you!" Jet was panicking.

"A grudge? No, that's not what this is, though my two associates might not agree. You see, Jet, I wanted to help you grow. I've watched you become stronger, all for this moment."

Jet was mortified. "What, why?"

"Because you are the first person to land a blow on me in a long time. To get past my defences is no mean feat, and then you kept up with my first level of reinforcement. I wanted more!" Kirion's eyes became frightening alive. "I wanted a rival, someone to strive against, and I think you are the one."

"You're a lunatic!"

"Am I, am I really? Body Magic: Reinforcement!" Jet tensed.

"Speed Magic: First Gear!"

There was a blaze of movement as the pair moved into attack. Their attacks crossed and they were both thrown back.

"Are you not trying?" Asked Jet.

"Hmm?"

"Why aren't you using your damage reflecting magic?"

"Well, as you correctly surmised, I can't use it against someone of your speed. Also, to fight you effectively, I have to use reinforcement, and the strain that places on my body means that I can't use it."

"Now, are we talking or fighting? Show me how you've grown. Body Magic: Reinforcement Level Two!"

There it was, the spell that had effortlessly taken them all out months ago. Magic began to gather around Jet.

"I'm not the same man as the last time I saw you. Speed Magic: Second Gear!" There was another enormous rush of movement, and again, both fighters were thrown back.

"Yes, yes! No one's ever stood against me in this form! This is what I wanted! My soul is shaking!"

"I'll shake the rest of you," shouted Jet in one of his worst comebacks ever.

* * *

Levy found herself in an identical room. She called out for her teammates in her confusion.

"They're not here, A-cup," sneered a familiar voice. Levy's head snapped up to see the little girl from the time they'd found the sacred sword. She was floating in mid-air using her black wing armour.

"You! Did you set up this trap?" Levy demanded.

"The name is Ariane, flat-chest. And no, if this had been my scheme you'd be dead while you were asleep." Her face was pure fury. "But my boss, for some reason, wants us to fight you fair and square. Who knows why, you needed all three to beat me last time, no way a midget like you can touch me by herself."

"Don't underestimate me! I am a Fairy Tail mage!"

"You've had enough warning. Prepare yourself, A-cup! Exquip: Dual Sabres!" With her speed, Ariane quickly rushed in, dodging Levy's attacks and activating the swords, swept the small mage up in a hurricane of blades.

Levy crashed into the ground, bleeding from a dozen cuts.

"Tch, we've only just started. Are you really so weak?"

Levy was getting onto her feet. "Yep…I'm weak…and small too…but that means…," she stood up straight, facing Ariane with a smile on her face.

"…you'll have no excuse when you lose."

* * *

Droy's opponent was the green-robed bandit leader, Barudan. The man was as laconic as ever and the fight had started almost wordlessly. He stood, somehow, in mid-air, raining down magic bolts. Droy bled from a plethora of tiny nicks and scratches, but avoided the worst of it.

Vines speared into the sky, but the man possessed a surprising level of agility and dodged them all. Mandragoras spat fireballs, Lilies sent columns of water and Impact Bulbs struck with force, but between his speed and runic defences, nothing penetrated.

In a flash, a bolt of energy struck Droy, engulfing him in a cloud of dust. As it settled, he stood tall in his Bark Armour.

"Motherf-"

* * *

Mr Verdice had turned out to be a beast mage. His back wall had retracted to reveal a cage full of enormous monsters. Laughing, the cage opened, and he ordered the beasts to attack the intruders.

It lasted roughly thirty seconds. Elfman even managed to takeover a weretiger for good measure.

Verdice looked up at Gajeel's face with terror. Not unjustifiably. Gajeel grabbed him and slammed him into the floor, raising a fist that he transformed into an iron club.

"Where is she?" Only Lily noted his choice of pronoun. He whimpered that he didn't want to die, and Gajeel lifted him up and slammed him down again. "WHERE IS SHE?"

"They…they were taken to master Kirion's compound."

"Who?" Asked Bixlow, echoed by his dolls.

"Master Kirion met your friends in the past, and he set up this elaborate scheme in order to have a rematch with them. He gathered two warriors to join him in battle, and myself and a few helpers in order to make the scheme work."

"The guy I saw teleport Droy," said Bixlow.

"Seems like a lot of trouble," mentioned Elfman.

Gajeel slammed him into the floor again. "How do we get there!?" Verdice gave panicked instructions and Gajeel left, dragging him by his leg.

"Where are you taking me?"

"If yer lyin', then yer'll take one helluva beatin'."

He walked on briefly.

"Hell, yer takin' a beatin' either way."

* * *

Levy was running as fast as she could, repeatedly shooting Bolt at Ariane as she drew large circles around the room. The redhead easily moved out of the way, and each Bolt slammed into the walls and ceiling.

"Pitiful. Exquip: Flame Staff!" The swords changed into a single metal pole, the end burning with blue fire. She launched fireballs down at the fleeing Levy, who continued to fire Bolts back up. A near hit suddenly set Levy tumbling, and Ariane took her chance, diving on her.

Levy moved her hands through a complicated series of gestures.

"Delayed Solid Script!"

Ariane's movement suddenly arrested as she saw that the walls and ceiling were glowing with Solid Script. Where her Bolts had hit the room, there was now the word 'Bolt' written, gathering power. They all launched simultaneously, heading for Ariane. There was nowhere to dodge.

She screamed as a dozen lightning bolts hit her at the same time. Her smoking body hit the floor and Levy was right next to her. Shyly, she placed her hands on her chest.

"Had enough?"

"A-cup…," Ariane choked out.

"Your choice. Char!" Ariane was consumed by fire, and keeled over, blackened head to toe.

"Ironically, your large breasts made that easier to write," smiled Levy.

* * *

"Plant Magic: Daemon Blossom!" The giant plant grew up, like a sunflower on steroids. It had multiple vines with bladed mouths that lashed out at Barudan, snaking around with a will, and one successfully knocked him downwards. He landed well, but Droy was rushing to greet him.

"You're good at a distance. How good are you at hand to hand?" Droy laid in with punches and kicks, and the old man could not keep up, particularly with Bark Armour's physical enhancement.

He jumped away, regaining his footing in the sky, but the Daemon Blossom rushed him, head extending on a vine-like neck.

Its enormous mouth gouged him and he coughed up a spray of blood, before falling to the ground. Droy went over and made damn well sure that he was unconscious.

"And now you know what my magic feels like."

* * *

Everything hurt. Jet could not maintain Second Gear for much longer.

"Oh, such a powerful form, but you haven't learnt to maintain it yet. A shame, I've enjoyed our fight. You've made my soul shake and I appreciate it. Time to end this." Kirion stopped short as Jet unleashed a torrent of magical power.

He roared. "Speed Magic: Third Gear!"

Kirion had time to claim disbelief before hundreds of blows began rocking his body. Jabs flickered out from Jet's feet like lightning. It was all over in an instant, in which Jet exhausted every atom in his body, but he'd pummelled Kirion to within an inch of his life. As he fell over, a single word escaped his lips.

"Magnificent…"

* * *

The three chambers all joined onto a single antechamber, and the three members of Shadow Gear joined up, joy in their eyes. Jet and Droy crushed Levy between them as they formed a group hug.

"Ow,ow,ow! Not so tight, boys!"

They slowly dragged the three unconscious opponents out and made their way up though the strange facility. They heard the sounds of fighting, of familiar voices. The wall near them collapsed as Gajeel put two men through it. His eyes alighted on the trio, and an unusual expression of relief passed his face, before being replaced by his usual demeanour.

"Jeez. Got any idea how much trouble you three are?"

* * *

With the group turned in to the proper authorities, the gang made their way home.

"You didn't even need us," said Bixlow happily.

"As a man, I am impressed."

"Don't waste our time again," said Gajeel with his usual surliness.

Levy bowed in gratitude. "Thank you all. You've seen us. Nothing is going to stop Shadow Gear from becoming the strongest group in Fairy Tai!"

Three days later, the S-Class exam was announced.


	14. To the S Class exams!

Levy was happy like a little child. She couldn't believe she'd been chosen for the S-class exams. Jet and Droy had already started bickering about who would accompany her.

She very suddenly started getting depressed. Not over those two; that was a very real problem. She had to pick someone and it looked like everyone else had got a partner. She couldn't think of anyone else to choose from.

But, this exam must have some element of physical confrontation. No matter how much smarts would help, she couldn't imagine there would not be a contest of arms. And as she compared herself to the other candidates…Natsu, Gray or Elfman would walk through her like she wasn't there. Fried had recently proven his superiority over her. She wasn't even sure how to start with Juvia's water body, or what Mest's abilities were, though she knew he was strong. Only Cana was in the same league, but she was a battler, much more suited to it than the little bookworm.

And then the partners…only Lisanna and Happy were in her league. Bixlow, Evergreen, Loki, Wendy. Even the partners were all above her. Even Lu-chan had Aquarius and Taurus.

And then there was the S-class mages. Erza had shown her superiority in the Shadow Cobra quest, and Mira had beaten her directly. She tried to imagine standing up to Gildartz and almost wet herself.

Then Gajeel had offered his assistance, and everything seemed to change. What could Cana and Lucy do to the Iron Dragon? Gajeel was ranked higher than Juvia in Phantom Lord. Natsu and Gajeel were almost equals, and with only Happy to contend with, Levy could tip the balance.

_They could beat Natsu!_

Gray, Elfman and Fried still posed real threats, but it looked possible now!

* * *

She had to apologize to Jet and Droy. They weren't taking it particularly well. Jet was refusing to look at her.

"I'm really sorry. But I want to win, and Gajeel's the…," she began.

"I don't care about the fact that you chose him. In fact, if it makes you happy, then go for it," said Jet.

"In reality, it's good that you don't have to choose between us," remarked Droy. "It means that we won't kill each other."

"So why…," she started again.

"You won't leave us behind, will you?" She snapped around to look at Jet's shadowed face. He looked like he was about to cry. She threw her arms around his waist and rested her head on his chest.

"Of course not, silly. We're Shadow Gear! If I win, we can go on S-class quests as a team! Won't that be great? We've been getting stronger, and then we can take the next step! If we start doing S-class quests, I'm sure you'll be chosen next year!"

Jet was openly crying now.

"I'll be gone for a week or two, a month tops, and then we'll be a team again. And if we're lucky, we'll be an S-class team!"

* * *

The next week was hell. Gajeel had decided to train her, which pretty much devolved into the same comprehensive beating that he'd given her in their first fateful encounter.

Then, to give her variety, he'd lined up a whole bunch of spars against members not in the exam. Warren beat her. Max beat her. Laki beat her. Nab beat her. Vijitor beat her. Though towards the end, she hoped that some of the reason was the piling up damage.

After four days of literally being beaten black and blue, Gajeel had allowed her to recover…by doing nothing but running. By luck Mest agreed to let Wendy heal her damage. She'd never been as grateful as she was when the day arrived.

Jet and Droy waved her off from the guild along with everyone else. They looked forward to her return, no matter how well she did. It wouldn't be long.

* * *

**Seven years later.**

It was one of those days. When all the misery and sadness came to Jet. It wasn't every day. Not anymore. He was visiting the small site where twenty two crosses had been placed, one for every comrade that they'd lost. He read the names, and as always, alighted upon hers.

Levy McGarden.

Then his brain did what it always did, rebelling against him. It dragged up a simple memory.

Levy, smiling up at him with the force of a small sun.

Tears began to fall, faster and faster, and Jet openly cried and cried. So far, he'd managed to keep such displays private, and they were less frequent these days.

Every day of your life, your loved ones leave you. You parents go to work, your children to school. You assume that you'll see them again later that day. And when they don't come back, part of you keeps waiting, as you're used to it. They'll come round that corner like they always do.

It takes a long time to accept.

Jet had held a girlfriend down for some time now, and that had helped, but the writing seemed to be on the wall for them now.

Droy had become a lost cause. He had retreated into such gluttony that all the hard work that he had done was gone. Some days, Jet was disgusted with him, but he understood that it was a symptom of the same pain he felt, and he couldn't be angry at him for that.

"Why? Why did you leave us? You said you wouldn't leave us behind!" He beat his fists on the ground in impotent rage.

Tenrou Island had been obliterated. There could be no survivors.

In six years, he had utterly forgiven Gajeel for everything. He would have liked to see the gruff slayer again, as much as any other guildmate. Well not any guildmate. In his darker moments, Jet knew that he'd sacrifice them all for her.

He cried and he cried until, red faced, no more tears would come. Then he did the only thing he knew how to do; he ran. He ran and ran, faster and faster, shifting to his highest gear. The cathartic experience had helped him grow. They all had. Max, Warren, Nab…all of them. Come back Natsu, because little Romeo…you'd be so proud.

Panting, lying on his back, all strength gone, he looked up at the stars. He didn't know their names, but long ago he'd alighted upon one of the brightest one and called it Mavis, after the first master. He asked it to watch over him, and if she needed it, to guide her along whatever path she now took. Maybe it was his imagination, but he thought he saw it twinkle.

The very next day, Blue Pegasus arrived aboard the Christina.


	15. Tenrou Island

**Because Levy needed more screentime in the Tenrou arc.**

The test actually started really badly. Despite being second off of the ship, they were fourth to the paths. Of course, Fried and Bixlow were first. But Elfman and Evergreen had overtaken her in the water, being much more powerful swimmers than her. Gajeel had to wait for her, and it was they who got the second path.

She had no idea what happened to the third path…maybe Mest? She couldn't think who else could have even done it. Gajeel had been pissed, but he'd kept it quiet. Then they'd chosen the quiet path and he'd started complaining. Levy tuned it out, it wasn't important. She was ashamed that she couldn't prove herself, but according to master, luck was a virtue, so hey.

* * *

Then her life had been ruined. Foolishly, she'd run away from Gajeel like a little child. And those two beasts had jumped out on her. As Kawazu held her down, she'd never felt so helpless. Her screams had been pure terror. She'd honestly believed she would die there and then.

But her black knight had come to rescue her. It took a while to control her shaking, but Gajeel's stoic concern had penetrated her heart. He really cared, and would protect her. But then, Gajeel had been grievously hurt. Why? Because she was literally too weak to stand against Grimoire Heart's weakest wizard.

Even in flight, she had failed, knocking herself unconscious by not looking where she was going. How weak was she? Gajeel was fighting to the death and she couldn't even run in a straight line.

Now, they were inching their way to the campsite, her shouldering his weight. They'd been fortunate that when the Grimoire reinforcements had arrived that they had been able to hide. But then, by some misstep, Gajeel had jarred his grievous injury and cried out, fainting. She suddenly had his entire weight on her and could barely stand. But worse, she heard angry shouts as the Grimoire wizards reacted to his cry.

Gently and oh so slowly, she let him slip to the ground as ten of them surrounded her. Upon seeing the situation, they had laughed and sheathed their weapons, cracking their knuckles. A single, injured, tiny girl? They would enjoy this.

Levy had taken two out with Bolt immediately. The third that launched at her got a Char on his chest. The fourth had cracked her over the back of the head. Head swimming, she had twisted and hit him with a Shock. Then the fifth hit her and she went over into the mud.

The six remaining mages had surrounded her, and cackling like hyenas, repeatedly kicked and stomped on her frail body. Even then, she grabbed an ankle and delivered another Char. The fifth enemy went down wreathed in flame.

But the next had just grabbed her wrists. Another grabbed her ankles. The remaining three kneeled down over her and had began to pummel her, as she protested feebly.

The noise that followed could not be called anger, as that would imply there was a human element to it, and this was entirely animal. Still completely prone, save that he was propped up on one elbow, Gajeel glared at them.

Laughing at the injured man, the quintet had stood, abandoning Levy for the moment. What came next was not spoken of, as neither Levy not Gajeel understood the phenomenon.

Dragon Force.

High on rage, bathed in a green aura, Gajeel's skin turned pitch black, and his hair stark white. From his prone position he roared, and the five men disappeared into red mist. Above Levy the roar had travelled, and cut a cone of pure obliteration out of the jungle canopy for mile.

As fast as it had come, it was gone, and Gajeel collapsed back into the mud. Trembling, Levy crawled over to him, every atom in her body protesting in pain.

"I thought I told you to stay by my side," Gajeel had uttered before passing out.

Emotionally and physically exhausted, Levy thought she might collapse in on herself. Instead, she somehow, inch by inch, lifted Gajeel's dead weight, and at a snail's pace made for the camp. It took her an hour to cover the couple of hundred meters.

* * *

When Rustyrose had attacked, she had confidently declared that the trio of her, Lisanna and Lily would protect the wounded. He'd dispatched of them in instants. It was only the timely intervention of Fried and Bixlow that saved them.

She'd even been caught up in that weird tower! If only she'd been separated, she could have broken the spell, but Bixlow and Elfman broke it, and Lisanna and Fried finished the job. Lily had to save her from falling. She was useless.

She'd stayed on the defence team, believing that she had no power left to fight Master Hades. Technically her powers would be useful in protecting the site, but she was too drained to believe herself useful anymore.

She'd helped defeat Kain, but felt that she had the least role, being delayed from turning up due to Yomazu breaking her runes so easily. Could he have broken Fried's? She doubted it.

As the others had fought Hades, she had sat over Gajeel's unconscious body. She'd never been more miserable in her life. Emotionally, she was beaten. Physically, she was exhausted. And less than a day ago, she'd been full of the joy of a new future. The whiplash was damning.

But, the injured had all felt the power of that final fight, and awoken. Together, they'd made their way to the enemies' base and saved team Natsu from the multitude of grunts that threatened to overwhelm them.

* * *

In the aftermath, Wendy had offered to heal her first, despite others having more grievous wounds. None of them had argued. It was obvious that they all felt they could bear their injuries better than she could.

After all, she was the weakest.

Amid all the joy, Levy silently fumed. She had literally done nothing since getting here. They'd avoided confrontation in the exam, and then she'd instantly lost to Kawazu. She hadn't helped in any way in taking out the seven kin.

Gajeel sat with her after a time.

"Thanks for savin' me," he said. She snapped round to look up at him.

"What are you talking about?

"If not for your Iron, I could never have…," suddenly, he put his head in his hands and he began to cry, his body trembling. "Who am I kidding? You saved me a long time ago. You forgave me for my sins, where many would not, and you had the most reason to hate me. "

"Everyone deserves a second chance," she said quietly, looking at the ground.

"I've never met someone as strong as you," Gajeel said, his shaking stopping. Levy on the other hand, started trembling, her hands grasped tightly shut. Tears welled at the corners of her eyes.

"I'm not strong. I'm the weakest person here."

"No," said Gajeel with such force that she stopped and looked at him. "Do you remember when you broke Fried's barrier all of those months ago. Salamander and I, we were among the strongest members of the guild, and we could do nothing. You, with your different kind of strength easily got through it." He stopped, sighing. "And then there is your inner strength. The strength to forgive."

Levy had cried silently. Gajeel had gotten up, making to leave. "If anyone ever calls you weak, just send 'em to me. I'll correct them, gihi! Oh," he added. "Let me have your Iron again sometime. I've never had some that tasted so good!"

* * *

The world had seemed a bit brighter after that, for a brief time.

Then _it _had come.

Acnologia, the black dragon of the apocalypse. She couldn't believe the fear. How it effortlessly ignored everything the guild poured into it. They held hands, and suddenly she wasn't useless. Using her and Fried as a locus, they summoned all of their magical energy to repel the beast.

A shining light, and then only darkness.

* * *

She had no idea how much time had passed as she came to. She was half buried by earth. She tried to rise, but suddenly found herself pulled up by four powerful arms and thrown into a crushing embrace.

"Jet! Droy! What are you two doing here?" She couldn't help but notice how much they'd changed. Droy had put on so much weight and Jet's hair was different. Their faces were different somehow, more lined. They were crying with all their might.

Then Mavis began to explain what had happened, and the bottom fell out of Levy's world.


	16. The Blank Seven Years

It was hard for Levy, adjusting to those seven blank years. So many people that she'd known and loved had changed so much. Romeo had gotten so big! Bisca had finally admitted her feelings to Alzack, and time had moved on so much that they had their own child.

The back rent she owed to Fairy Hills was over five million jewels. Others were in the same boat, but it seemed like an insurmountable goal. But at least her room and belongings were still intact. In fact, her apartment was tidier than she'd ever kept it. She'd found out that once a month Jet had stopped by and made sure that everything was clean and dust free. It broke her heart to even imagine it.

Now books no longer occupied every square inch of the room, but only the shelves. As she went through what Jet must have thrown out, she became amazed at how much time and care he'd put into it. All of her favourites remained. He must have paid more attention to her babbling on the subject than she would ever have guessed. She'd guessed that he'd spent time reading some of the books himself, maybe to pass the time.

She also noted a few private things moved around and panicked about what Jet must have seen, but realized how inconsequential that was in the grand scheme. All of her clothes were clean, washed and ironed, and were all in the right places. Just thinking about the care and devotion brought tears welling up, and she tried to clear her head.

They'd all become so strong. All of them. In the blink of an eye, from her point of view. She'd left the guild, and a week later everyone had grown up. Now that the guild had reduced to so few, such a core of dedicated members, she truly realized that apart from the children and the Exceeds, she was now literally the weakest member of the guild. She'd seen Max prove that point against Natsu.

She worried about Droy. His eating was clearly a distraction from his pain, but everyone's return hadn't seemed to diminish it. He said that he was trying to increase his magical power, and he might have been right. His physical strength may now be highly limited, but his magical power was much vaster than it had been one week…seven years ago.

But…Jet. From everything she'd heard Jet had grown the most, becoming an adult the quickest. He was considered the strongest of all the ones who had remained behind. Apparently, seven members of Twilight Ogre had tried to assault Laki and he'd beaten the ever-loving crap out of all of them at the same time. Despite his good intentions, that had seen the interest increase and Macao nearly kicked him out of the Guild.

She was crying again. Jet had worried that she would leave them behind, but it was they who had left her behind.

She'd never felt so small.

* * *

The next week or so had seemed a bit like an endless party. Everyone appeared to be making up for lost time, and stories were told. About how Bisca had proposed to Alzack, or how Nab never took a single job. To Elfman's consternation, Mira had told the story of their 'fight' and Lisanna the story of his blossoming love with Evergreen.

It was Droy who asked her what story she had, and she almost broke down in tears as the attention of the crowd had turned to her. She had no story to tell. Then Gajeel had stumped over, beer in hand and regaled them with how she broke Fried's runes in less than a minute. How she was the luckiest member there in choosing her path. About how she had saved his life and carried him to the camp. About how she had watched over all the wounded, protecting them until the Raijinshu arrived. About how she had been the focus of their spell.

She was silent, blushing in quiet joy. Jet and Droy had cheered at every part of the tale, of how strong she was. Levy was not used to praise from Gajeel. She was also unused to the way Jet and Droy treated Gajeel like a long lost friend, laughing and reacting to his tale, joining in and asking for elaboration where necessary.

The crowd's silence was broken as a drunken Fried cried out, wanting to know how she'd beaten his barrier in less than a minute. The crowd had laughed and had moved on to the next story, as Natsu crowed about how he'd beaten Gildartz until the venerable mage put Natsu through the floor.

* * *

As the initial frivolities died down, the mundane nature of regular life had begun to creep in. Fortunately, the job board had begun to fill up in response to the return of all their strongest members. People were desperately clamouring for the new jobs and for the first time in seven years Fairy Tail was a hub of activity.

There was already an obvious strain on Shadow Gear. Jet and Droy had been working as a duo for seven years, and had adopted a set of practices that they were used to. Suddenly trying to reintegrate Levy had made a few problems, but exacerbated by the emotion of the reunion. They treated her almost as if she were made of gossamer, afraid to take their eyes off her in case she disappeared again.

For her part, the more and more she talked to them, the more clear it became that she'd missed their lives. They'd grown up without her, endured their own hardships, learned their own lessons and become their own people. Particularly with Jet, you could see the experience in his demeanour. He was not a child anymore, and he stood with easy confidence of a battle hardened veteran.

Droy seemed to touch Levy every now and again, a pat on the shoulder, a tussle of the hair, a high five. It seemed as though he kept checking that she was real. It was hard to understand, but she knew that what they had gone through was hard to comprehend. She'd changed into the clothes she'd worn during the miss Fairy Tail pageant, and that simply seemed to make them see her as figment of their past.

The truth was, she was also unhappy. It had only been a day, but in that day she had experienced more pain, misery, sadness and terror than she had ever thought possible. There had been joy as well, but she felt that she had been scarred deep by the experience, and couldn't vent because their pain was greater.

In the end, they'd found a simple mission to do. It was a day's walk away and was a simple courier mission. Hopefully there would be no strife, but a nice long time to spend together and get reacquainted.

* * *

They'd set off after noon, having watched Droy consume what must have been his own body weight. They had walked in near silence for hours as the sun began to set and the stars had come out. On a nice little hill which gave them a commanding view over a vast, grassy field they had made camp.

Levy quickly began to appreciate the difference between a man who was overweight due to lack of exercise and one who simply overate. Droy had lost none of his strength, but just had more to move, and he had held up as well as Levy had.

Their three sleeping bags were equally spaced around a roaring fire. Jet had volunteered to take first watch and sat on his bed facing out from the fire. Droy had fallen asleep almost immediately – well after a hearty supper anyway. If anything, his ability to gather herbs for a delicious meal had improved over the years.

Levy couldn't sleep. She wanted to pick up the courage to talk to Jet, but was amazed at how hard it was to speak to her lifelong friend. After almost an hour, she picked up her sleeping bag and dragged it over next to him, sitting down cross-legged to face the same way he was. He glanced up at her, but said nothing.

"Jet, um…can I talk to you?" He voice was so shy and quiet; Jet looked almost hurt, but didn't respond in that manner. He looked over to check Droy was still asleep and returned to her.

"What about?" It'd had almost come out cold and hard, but he'd managed to inject some interest in at the last moment.

"Umm…thank you for keeping my room clean," she said at last. Jet shrugged, looking up at the night sky.

"It became a routine. Something that I did to keep me occupied. Somewhere to be alone with my thoughts. I never believed for a second that it would actually be useful. I ended up reading a lot of your books. I'm sorry about that."

"No," said Levy surprised that he would apologize. "I'm glad that someone enjoyed them. I noticed how careful you were about which ones you threw out."

He sighed. "After reading so many, I got a feel for which ones seemed like they'd be most important to you. I remembered some that you'd gone on about, and used them as a starting point." He suddenly looked embarrassed. "I didn't read your diary by the way; I just moved it when I was sorting stuff around."

"Thank you."

"It would have been too hard to read, anyway." His head turned away, and Levy understood what he meant. He suddenly smiled. "But I did see what was in the shoebox under your bed."

Levy blustered, and Jet laughed, unable to help himself. "Don't worry, I've seen much worse." She blushed and Jet stared without realizing it.

"It must have been hard." It was Jet who had spoken. Levy looked at him quizzically. "Everyone talks about Tenrou Island like some epic tale out of myth, but those heroic tales usually don't feel so heroic to those actually living them."

Levy had looked at him tears welling. Jet understood. Slowly and in detail, she found herself describing the initial encounter with Kawazu and Yomazu. About how she'd nearly died in the first seconds. Of how with one powerful hand Kawazu had bound both of hers. How with the other he had pinned her chest in place. Yomazu had stood there, sword drawn, bringing it down. She couldn't do anything. She couldn't do anything! She cou…

It took her some time to realize that she had stopped talking and Jet had moved over and was holding her close to him. She was shaking violently at the terrifying memory. She clung on to Jet, burying her head in his chest, and cried.

She gradually told more and more about what happened. About how Gajeel was hurt because of her. Of how she had been attacked again. Of the hopelessness when Rustyrose appeared. Or when Acnologia had arrived. She'd cried and cried until her face was bright red.

Jet remained silent, listening. He knew that she wasn't asking for advice or anything, just venting built up emotions. Silence stretched out into the night. Levy seemed to have become exhausted by her crying.

"I'm so glad that you're safe," Jet had said at last. "I can't promise you that you'll never be hurt again, but I've become strong enough to look after you."

"I'm not a china doll," Levy had replied, but she hadn't pushed away from Jet's embrace. If anything she sank deeper. Jet had leaned over, resting his head on top of hers.

"I know," he said, and his voice had choked up. "I just…" He trailed off. Levy didn't press him. If he wasn't ready, she didn't want to force it. "I just don't want to lose you again!" He almost shouted the words, as if he couldn't get them out without force. Levy felt her heart breaking again at the pain in those words.

She tried to imagine if it had been the other way around, if Jet or Droy had just…disappeared one day. She clutched onto Jet's hand and they stayed there for a prolonged period of time in silence.

Finally, Jet had released her and stood. "You should get some sleep. I'm gonna put Droy on watch."

"I'm surprised he didn't wake up, the racket we were making," she sniffed in amusement. Jet laughed.

"You kidding?" He walked over to Droy and started kicking him. "Yo, Droy!" He shouted. It took a full ten seconds to rouse him, much to Levy's amazement.

"Is it breakfast?" He asked hopefully.

* * *

The next day had been much easier. Normal conversation had flowed. Droy seemed to follow the mood and joined in. Life had seemed a little better. There was still a long way to go, but they were adjusting.


	17. Fighting Fit

Gajeel slammed into the earth yet again. The assembled crowd looked on with amazement, Levy and Droy included. Max had pressured Natsu, but this…

"This is messed up," declared Gajeel, rising to his feet. Standing across from him, Jet observed him calmly.

"This is only my second gear. I can maintain this form indefinitely now. Don't make me shift up to the next gear."

Gajeel glowered at him from under heavy brows. "Roar of the Iron Dragon!" The crowd behind where Jet had been leapt out of the way frantically. Jet swept in low, hammering a knee into Gajeel's jaw, and then rotated back on himself, executing an overhead axle kick to his rising skull, slamming it right back down into the earth. The Iron Dragon Slayer coughed up blood.

He raised a hand. "I give, I give. Don't get cocky, punk, this is only because I underestimated you and took too much damage early on."

"Probably," said Jet rubbing the bridge of his nose, "I'm in no doubt to our relative positions without seven years advantage." On the sidelines, Macao was laughing inappropriately as Makarov looked on in amazement.

"You see, Third Master? This is the power we gained during your absence. Jet in particular has done us proud."

"I see," confirmed Makarov, walking over to Jet. "Very impressive. I can see you've worked hard these years."

"I had to," Jet replied sadly. Makarov's mood dimmed in response to the words and he patted Jet on the arm. "I'm proud of you. We can't choose the hand fate deals us, but how we respond makes men of us. Well done."

Jet had shrugged off the praise uncomfortably. He became stronger through necessity, not a desire for plaudits.

* * *

"Hey Droy, do you want to show me what you've learnt too?" Levy had asked later that day. They were sitting around a table eating dinner amidst the Guild's general carousing. He paused eating to look nervous.

"Err…I haven't really learnt anything," he admitted.

"C'mon now, that's not completely true," coaxed Jet encouragingly.

"Most of the plants I grow are for food these days," he said, returning to gorging. Levy watched him sadly, trying to think of something to get him out of his shell. He'd seemed to have lost all of his confidence. She wasn't doing too well in that regard herself, but she wanted to help Droy.

"Do you ever spar with anyone?" She asked. Droy just looked sad and shook his head.

* * *

Later, Levy had sat with Lucy and talked to her about the problem.

"I just want to help him," she had finished. Lucy pondered the problem.

"There's a possibility. Are you above manufacturing drama?" Levy's expression grew exasperated.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Who's the one person in the guild that Droy would do anything to rescue?"

Levy really was short, as that went right over head.

"I don't know, who?" Lucy had looked at her with the expression of a devil. "Lu-chan?"

"I think we can sort something out, wohohoho!"

* * *

"C'mon Droy," said Jet impatiently. His overweight friend was struggling to keep up.

"Why don't you slow down, it's not exactly a rush, is it?" Droy had sounded annoyed. They were 'supposedly' meeting Levy to help her carry some books home from the bookshop. Of course, right now she had no money for books, thought Jet. Hopefully Droy wouldn't think of that.

When they got to the bookshop, Levy was nowhere to be seen.

"Oh, save me!" The shout was so badly acted that Jet almost fainted on the spot. They looked up and on the roof of the bookshop was Natsu, dressed up like he had when they saw Mystogan off in Edolas. He was carrying Levy under one arm.

"Haha! I, the great Daemon Lord Dragneel have captured this fair maiden!" His acting was not much better, but at least it was enthusiastic.

"Oh no!" Jet shouted, "I'll save you!" He took one step forward and keeled over. "Oh no! My leg is hurt, who can save Levy now?"

"Haha! No one, for I am too powerful!"

"Oh save me, save me!"

It may have been the worst set of actors in the world all combined into one place thought Lucy from her hiding spot. She was suddenly taken aback by an enormous rush of magical energy.

"Seven years," said Droy, bathed in a golden aura. "And you think I'll let you take her away?" He roared and a plethora of razor vines grew up, lancing the sky like missiles. Natsu easily leapt away even while carrying Levy, but the bulbs generated new vines along their length, shooting out spiny needles at ninety degrees to the original attack.

He snapped around as an enormous Daemon Blossom was coming from the other direction, having anticipated his flight. Snapping heads reached out to grab him as he flipped and pivoted on the rooftop to avoid it.

"Waaah – Natsu, you're supposed to be caught," cried Levy.

"Yeah, but these things'll make lunch outta me! Fire Dragon's Roar!" He cut through the plant ahead of him, dropping Levy unceremoniously on the rooftop as he made his break for it. Not ready for it, Levy had almost rolled off the roof entirely before clinging on.

"Help!" She cried, suddenly sincere. A vine took hold of her by the waist and gently deposited her on the ground. "Droy! My hero!" She rushed over to him and put her arms as far around his stomach as she could.

"Levy! Are you ok!"

"Droy, you've gotten so good! The amount of plants you used and the control are so much better!"

"But the guy got away!"

"Never mind that," said Jet walking over to them. "You did great."

"Wasn't your leg hurt?" Asked Droy in confusion. Very suddenly there was a cloud on the horizon. "Oi Jet, get back here! Levy what's going on?" He turned around to see her fleeing into the distance as well. At that speed, though, he quickly grabbed her with a chain plant.

"Lu-chan!" Levy cried out.

"See ya!" Shouted Lucy as she ran away. "This was all her idea!"

* * *

"This was all a hoax?" Droy was despondent.

"I'm sorry, it was all Lu-chan's idea," Levy replied sheepishly. "I just wanted to help you feel more confident about yourself."

"I am confident. At least, about my magic."

"You should be! That was amazing what you just did!" Levy gushed, vaguely hoping that being nice would make him miss her role in the deception.

"But…I know that I've gotten fat. My stamina is poor, and I can't run as far or as fast as I used to. I can't stop eating."

Levy clenched a fist. "I'm going to help you."

"Huh?"

"I need to get into shape too. I'm going to put you on a crash diet, and we're going to exercise together."

"Uhh…I'd rather just keep eating."

But Levy was not taking no for an answer.

* * *

The next morning, Levy had appeared on Droy's doorstep at the crack of dawn. If he hadn't woken up yet, he couldn't have had breakfast yet. She was dressed in light jogging gear and smiled up warmly at Droy, knowing that it would help cut through his defences.

She'd made him a healthy, reasonably sized breakfast while he showered and changed. He hadn't seemed too happy about it, but ate everything given to him. Food was food after all.

After that, they had jogged around Magnolia for an hour or so. Droy had kept up reasonably well, though he hadn't spoken at all, losing his breath easily. Levy had always run in front of him, leading him on. He'd spent most of the time watching her rear. That helped him keep going.

Afterwards, she had cleaned out his cupboards of all his junk food, despite his protests.

"Droy, you have an allotment full of healthy vegetables out back, why do you need this?"

"It's not that I don't like vegetables, I just like all food," he replied feebly.

"Healthy food, sensible portions!" She had replied brightly.

"It's your fault!" He shouted suddenly and Levy jumped. "All of you! If you'd just…I'd never have this problem!" Silence stretched out between them. The look of hurt on Levy's face stabbed Droy in the heart.

"I'm sorry…I didn't mean to," he said quietly, grabbed a bag of potato chips and started eating.

"No!" Shouted Levy, jumping at him and grabbing the bag from his hands. "Even if you hate me, I won't let you!"

"I don't…how could I…I'm sorry, Levy. I shouldn't have said that, I'm really sorry." He was tearing up, and Levy tried to think about the last time she'd seen him cry and couldn't. She tried to calm her own frayed nerves and remember that he'd been depressed for seven years. This wasn't going to go away in a day.

She put a hand on Droy's shoulder. "I'll be here, okay? Every step of the way."

Droy had looked up at her, and his face screwed up. Tears began one at a time until they flowed like a river.

* * *

The plans would have to be put on hold. The great magic games were coming, and Fairy Tail was going to enter.


	18. The Strongest Solid Script

She'd tried to find out where Gajeel was going. He and Lily were leaving the guild, and Gajeel had a large bag slung over his shoulder. The guild was going their separate ways in order to train for the Great Magic Games.

"Um…where are you going?" She asked, trying not to blush. Why was this so goddamn hard?

"Secret training, gihi. Your fast footed friend showed me how far I have to go."

"Um…can I come? I want to get stronger too, you know."

Gajeel walked up to her, leaned down and just when she thought he was going to be romantic, he placed a finger on her forehead. "Then it wouldn't be _secret _training, would it, Shrimp?" He'd walked away laughing that laugh of his, and she'd raged at his back.

But she ran after him and pressed something into his hands. "If you ever get really tired, have this and think of me." He'd looked down at the bite-sized 'Iron' she had created. "You said you wanted to taste it again, right?"

He had slipped it into his bag, placed his hand on her head and looked directly at her. "I'll see you in three months, Shrimp!" He smiled.

In the end Shadow Gear tagged along with Natsu's group for lack of anywhere else to go.

* * *

The day before they were due to leave, Levy had visited the bookstore to say goodbye to the owner, a kindly old man. He'd been so glad to see her after seven years, she felt like she wanted to let him know that she'd be gone for three months.

When he'd learnt that she was going for training, he'd jumped out of his seat and ran to the back room. It turned out that over the seven years he'd been gathering Solid Script magic for her. He pushed a bunch of scrolls into her hands, each detailing a new spell. He'd meant to give them to her earlier, but had forgotten; this was a chance for her to learn them.

She thanked him from the bottom of her heart.

The first day had been full of fun. They'd swam and played in the water. She'd accidently let slip her intention to follow Gajeel and Lucy was teasing her mercilessly for it. Goddamn her big mouth.

She'd helped Wendy with the reading of her new spells, and then she turned to the scrolls that she'd been given. There were twelve in all, and their power ranged a great deal. This one, Ribbon, was a purely cosmetic spell. Still, it might prove useful if she lost another head band in combat.

She'd gasped when she'd opened the twelfth spell. It was, as far as she was aware, the most powerful solid script spell she'd ever seen. She couldn't even pronounce it correctly at first glance, and she had a firm grasp of the English alphabet.

It was seven letters long, making it one of the longest she'd ever had to cast. A word's length directly contributed to its difficulty, but wasn't the only factor. The cosmetic spell 'Butterfly' was much easier to cast than 'Fire'. But 'Shock' was harder than 'Bolt'.

She read the scroll thoroughly, making sure she understood it correctly. Then she stood and tried to cast it. Holding her hands forward, a formless golden light appeared before her. She gasped at the magical drain. She tried to form the magic into the letters. Breathing heavily, she began to form the first letter.

T

Then she'd lost it and was bowled over as the magical energy expanded outwards, losing its containment. She couldn't believe just how much energy that attempt had taken. It would not be a spell she could cast more than once.

She had decided to try the other scrolls first, to build up to the bigger one. This one, 'Photon' seemed to have something in common with the bigger spell. It took more than an hour of practice, but she got it down. Photon's attack power didn't seem to be very high, but it was super fast, and could potentially blind a target. It wasn't an upgrade, but would fit in well with Fire, Storm and Bolt.

After that, she tried again.

TA

The spell exploded again, hurling her into the mercifully soft sand, but utterly drained every last morsel of magical energy she had left. She went to join the other girls in the hot spring, mortified to learn Happy was there too.

Together they'd looked up at the stars and wondered if everyone else was.

* * *

Gajeel lay on his back with Lily, exhausted from their day's training, looking at that same night sky.

He looked at the Iron the Shrimp had made for him.

"Not yet, I don't need her strength yet."

* * *

The next day had started with Erza working them into the ground, but had thankfully been interrupted by Virgo asking for assistance. They'd spent the day in the amazing celestial world. She'd never seen so many fascinating books, and she had been allowed to keep one.

However, the time differential used up all three months.

* * *

Salvation had come in the form of Crime Sorciere. Urtear had promised to unlock everyone's hidden power, their 'second origin'. However, she'd taken delight in tormenting Levy and Wendy with the process.

Natsu went first, and Jet and Droy left immediately. Levy looked on as one by one her friends were put under the painful spell. Urtear approached her.

"Um…maybe someone else should go before me?"

Urtear bent over her, grinning like a daemon. "You're the last one."

Moving her hands over Levy's body, Urtear drew the marks everyone else had on them.

"Oh, it's so much easier on flat surfaces!" Urtear commented. Levy pouted.

"What did y…Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa aaah!" The pain hit like a truck. No, that wasn't right, trucks don't burn. Like a thousand needles of fire, coated in burning poison that was also made of fire. Fire.

Fire.

She screamed and screamed as she writhed, desperately trying to get away from the pain. She found enough time between screams to curse every living thing on the face of the Earth.

* * *

After that, there wasn't much time before they all went home, and everyone was exhausted by the process.

Levy had snuck away briefly to try the spell one more time. She faced a cliff and summoned her magical power. All of her body hurt, but the magical power seemed to flow more easily.

T

A

C

H

Y

O

N

"Solid Script: Tachyon!" The word, wreathed in golden light, sent a tremendous beam of golden light so fast that Levy never really saw what had happened. She shouldn't have tried it in her weakened state, and the word was improperly formed. A concussive backrush sent her reeling, and drained and battered she fell unconscious.

Jet came to find her later. Seeing her unconscious he had run over to her, but stopped when he saw the cliff face. He couldn't help it, he had to check. There was a hole, perfectly circular, about a metre in diameter. It had bored a perfectly smooth tunnel into the rock, further than Jet could see.

Shaking, he mentally drew the straight line back out to the obvious source. Levy. How had she? Was this the power of second origin? He scooped her up in his arms and carried her to the others. How on Earth did this girl think that she was weak? That…spell must have been at least on par with some of the Dragon Slayer arts.

Jet grinned. Shadow Gear was a force to be reckoned with.

* * *

Levy wasn't chosen for the five man team to enter the games. She was crestfallen, but had always known that it would be the case. Nastu, Erza and Gray had been obvious choices, and Wendy had proven herself over Levy before. She was happy for Lu-chan though.

She'd kept practicing, but the Tachyon spell proved too much. It was so hard, that she couldn't train with it properly. She refocused on the other spells, trying to broaden her repertoire. 'Quake' was an interesting one, akin to Earth as Shock was to Bolt, requiring physical contact. It emitted a powerful shockwave into whatever it was placed.

Similarly, there was 'Dowse', which didn't seem to have any practical combat effect, but could potentially come in handy if she placed it and Shock at the same time. Now, with second origin, using two words, a previously difficult feat, seemed much easier.

There was another equipment spell, 'Shield'. It seemed more powerful than 'Guard', but required physical support. It may be more useful in conjunction with Jet or Droy, who could hold it. She could barely lift it, and any impact would surely send her flying.

Jet and Droy had been around too, and she marvelled as she watched Jet power up to fifth gear. His magical power flashed like a bolt of light, and then was gone. Evidently, he could not maintain it for more than a few seconds, but it was tremendous.

Droy had appeared to have lost some weight, and was focussing on maintaining his own magical power, much like Lucy had done on the beach. In contrast, his power felt like a tide of stamina, burning less brightly, but going on forever.

She wondered how she compared to those two now, with her second origin unlocked. Levy's magic did not allow her to vent her power in the same way. But they came upon the most incredible luck: an MPF. In the capitol, Crocas they found a repair crew in one of the parks surrounding the main stadium, using the open space as an area to effect repairs. Thinking quickly, Levy offered to test it for them, to make sure it was fixed.

Less than an hour later, it was ready.

"Yosh," said Droy. "I believe the three hundreds are considered good for a Knight Captain. Now, I need to hit it with my most powerful single strike." He thought briefly over his list of plants. The Daemon Blossom was powerful, but he needed one blow. Droy's strength was more apparent over a prolonged battle, but he'd make do.

"Plant Magic: Hydragora!" A large multi-headed plant with yellow petals sprang up. The stamens began glowing with power before coming together to fire a single, railgun-like pulse. Levy was amazed.

874

"Yeeeaaaaah!" Shouted Droy over the shocked repair crew.

"Levy, you can go next," offered Jet. Levy had wanted to go last, but it seemed churlish to refuse the offer. She was well rested and at 100%. She was going to try.

"Solid Script: Tachyon!" It wasn't perfect, but the two boys gasped as the mighty beam struck out. She almost collapsed, but managed to remain on her feet.

1062

Droy's mouth hung open. Jet looked like he'd been expecting it. Levy herself had never seen it before. The crew were flailing around in surprise. Just as Levy was going to cheer, her attention was drawn to the man besides her. Magical power rushed inwards.

"Speed Magic: Fifth Gear!" He was gone. In the same instant, "Falcon Hyabusa!" The kick rung the MPF like a church bell, and Jet rebounded off, landing perfectly where he had started.

2386

A hushed silence fell over the assembled congregation.

"There," said Jet. "I think it's working perfectly! It's been seven long years, but Shadow Gear is back, stronger than ever!"


	19. Sabretooth's Vengeance

**The great magic games**

* * *

The first day had not gone well. Gray and Juvia had done poorly at Hidden and both Lucy and Mystogan/Gerard had lost their fights. They had but a single point between both teams.

The next day had gone better. Natsu and Gajeel had really messed up at Chariot, but Elfman and Mirajane had both won their fights. Though 'fight' may have been a poor choice of words for either.

Levy had watched with amazement on day three as Erza completely shut down pandemonium, and then Orga, Jura and Cana had put her MPF score to shame. The Wendy had drawn her fight and Laxus had single-handedly annihilated Raven Tail.

She'd cried for Lucy at Minerva's perverse punishment. But then witnessing those five return to the field, and the Natsu and Gajeel's immense win over the twin dragons of Sabretooth…it had been a liberating experience.

* * *

That night, as Fairy Tail had headed back to the lodgings, Levy had been struck by the sudden urge to go book shopping. This was a big city…what kind of bookstores might they have here? It would be a chance to get away from Gajeel shouting at Natsu for the stunt he'd pulled. She went off by herself, but Jet had gone after her, saying that it wasn't safe.

Levy pouted a little. "I know I look like an easy target, but I can defend myself."

"I know," Jet said, raising placating hands, "but there are guilds out there who would have our heads right now. You're safe from the average mugger, but not Minerva on a sadistic rampage." Levy had shuddered to remember Minerva's cruelty, and let Jet tag along.

They'd come across a huge bookstore. It was closed, of course, but the window display was lit, and Levy had pored over the books there. Jet had taken a mild interest too. They'd both turned to stone to see that Ichiya had an autobiography entitled 'My lookalike and me'.

As they'd walked down the cold, empty streets, Jet had suddenly piped up, apropos of nothing. "I wish I'd had a chance to compete. I know that I'm not one of the big guys, but I've gotten good over the past years."

"You'd have been great at Chariot," Levy smiled at him. Jet blushed, cursing himself for falling for old emotions. If nothing else _he _should be aware of the age difference.

"What about you? Wished you had a chance to show off a little?" Levy had looked at her feet. I want to be dependable enough to have been entered, but I don't think there's anything I'd have been good at. I'd have lost any battle, and my MPF score was…fifth, I think."

Jet pondered. "What about Hidden? That was a strategy game. Any ideas on how you would have handled that?" Levy actually stopped walking, lost in thought. Jet stopped as well, turning to face her.

"I don't know. I think the main point is to..."

She was cut off mid-sentence. Both her and Jet were engulfed by black lightning. The pair, heavily damaged, fell to the ground.

* * *

Levy awoke to a kick to the ribs. She coughed in pain, and she tried to take stock of the figure before her in a green cheongsam style dres…no. Oh no, anyone but her. Magical power slammed down on her prone body.

"Well, I do believe you are awake, so if you would most kindly get up now." The voice, so refined, so polite. And yet, so utterly empty of emotion.

Minerva of Sabretooth.

Groggily, she called out for Jet. The room she was in seemed pleasant enough, like any of the hotel rooms, white walls and wood beams. She was under a window, and there were crates all around the room for some unknowable reason.

"Oh, I'm afraid your gentleman partner is not here. In fact, he may well no longer be of this Earth."

Levy's eyes widened at the words. "No, that's…Kyah!" More magical power hit her. What was this magic of hers?

"I do believe I asked you to get up." Levy glared up at her, but made to her feet. She began to realize how heavily damaged she was from the attack last night. Her skin and dress were blackened in several places.

"My apologies, Orga is known for his overkill."

"What have you done to Jet?" Levy asked angrily.

"Why I do not believe you are in any position to make demands. But you should know that he is being questioned by daddy. He is not so kind as me." She slammed another wave of magical power into Levy's side.

Hot and heavy…like molten lead. Levy flashed back on the earlier event with Lucy. She remembered how long Lu-chan had withstood this monster. She would not back down.

"Solid Script: Photon!" The blinding flash of light didn't make Minerva move, but her eyes closed against the glare. Levy rushed in, Dowse and Shock ready for a combo, but Minerva simply back handed her across the face, sending the little girl sprawling.

"Magical power is meaningless without the physical might to back it up. Such a simple lesson, and yet you are so terribly small." Minerva slammed another wave into Levy as she lay prostrate. "Now, I am here to talk not fight."

"You've been hitting me since I got here!" Minerva sighed, got down over Levy and grabbed the back of her hair, slamming her face into the wooden floor.

"Are we going to have a pleasant conversation, or do I have to request Orga comes in here?" Levy tried to reach behind her with her left hand, trying to make contact with any part of Minerva's person. Minerva grabbed her wrist with her other hand. "I had thought such a small girl would be more demure and compliant. Orga darling?"

The door opened and Orga entered. "Yes, my lady?"

"Could you be a dear and beat this little brat within an inch of her life for me?"

"Yes, my lady." Ten seconds. That's all it took for Orga to simply shock Levy with untold amounts of electric power, comparable to that of Laxus. She lay unmoving, completely blackened. Minerva had to quickly check that she was still breathing. "Thank you Orga, now if you could please leave us alone so that we may have a private conversation?"

"Yes, my lady," he said, bowing and leaving.

"Are you still conscious?" Levy replied with a raspy expletive. "Hmph, it appears the fight is still in you. What is it with you Fairy Tail idiots?"

"Never…give…in…to…you," Levy gasped. She cried out feebly as Minerva jabbed her stiletto into her back.

"Then you will die a miserable death."

* * *

Jet crashed backwards into a pile of crates. Genma was instantly on top of him again, hefting Jet by his throat and hurling him back across the room. Genma walked over to him again, kneeling down.

"Answer me, you runt!" Genma shouted. "Tell me how those two got so strong! What power do I have to acquire to surpass Dragon Force?!"

Jet spat in his face. Genma slammed his fist down on Jet's head, driving it into the wooden flooring. Jet coughed up blood, but laughed.

"Just wait till I rest up. We'll see who wins when I'm at 100%!" Genma laid into him, punching him repeatedly with no respite. Jet was fairly sure that at least one of his ribs was broken and his vision didn't sit properly anymore.

At last, Genma stood, panting. "Maybe I have a better idea." He dragged Jet from the room.

* * *

Natsu and Gajeel sniffed around like pack dogs, trying to find their scent.

"There was an enormous amount of electrical discharge here," noted Laxus.

"Got it," shouted Natsu. "Their scent is here. They went…this way!"

"That heads towards Sabretooth!" Gajeel ground out. "Warren, you got that?"

"Roger," came the ethereal reply. "I'm sending people to your location now."

"Heh," said Natsu, before his rage boiled over. "I've already trashed that place once!"

"Shrimp," said Gajeel quietly. He took the 'Iron' she'd given him out of his pocket. Before Natsu's stunt he'd planned to eat it in the fight against Rogue. "I'll save you, I promise. I owe you for saving me."

* * *

Genma hurled Jet into Levy's room. Minerva looked at him with surprise.

"Is that still alive?" Genma asked, gesturing to the blackened rags that was Levy.

"Why yes father, what do you…" Genma propped Jet up against the wall so he could see what was going on, Orga holding him in position. Genma walked over to Levy and grabbed her head in his powerful hand. She cried weakly.

"Levy!"

"Now answer my question, brat!"

If looks could kill, Genma would be dead then and there. Instead, he squeezed harder, eliciting more screams from Levy.

"I don't know!" Jet shouted. "Natsu's just super strong."

"That's no answer! No one can beat two Dragon Slayers using Dragon Force! It's impossible!"

"Clearly not," croaked Levy.

"You bitch!" Roared Genma, raising his fist. He stopped as Jet laughed.

"You're not gonna get her to shut up. Better people than you have tried!"

"Everyone is quiet when they are dead," noted Minerva. Jet laughed again.

"Not us. Even in death, Fairy Tail's gonna make a whole lot of noise!"

"Hmph," Genma snorted. "This girl is not far from expiring. Is there nothing you want to say?"

"She dies, you die." As the Sabretooth members looked at him in disbelief at the bold claim, there was a loud explosion downstairs, as if to emphasise his point. "Told you."

* * *

Members of Sabretooth went flying as the three powerful Dragon Slayers made their entrance.

"Fire Dragon's…Iron Dragon's…Lightning Dragon's…roar!" Walls collapsed and lifeless bodies were hurled around by the almighty attack.

"130mm Black Lightning Cannon," called Orga, stepping into the fray. As the dust settled, it could be seen that Laxus had blocked the attack.

"I've been looking for a chance to kick your ass," said Laxus, smiling a manic smile. The two powerful lightning bruisers engaged, slamming through walls and leaving Natsu and Gajeel to continue to search for Levy and Jet. As they ascended to the next floor, they met Minerva.

"I'm afraid I cannot allow you two to go any further."

"This one's mine," said Natsu, "I owe her for Lucy." Natsu rushed in with a fist of the fire dragon, but Minerva blocked it with her yinyang style shield. Natsu flipped over it, much to her amazement, and punched her through the floor. Gajeel left instantly, only caring about one thing.

He pushed open a door to find Genma holding Levy by the throat. Magical power was building in his offhand. Gajeel gasped when he saw the state of the Shrimp. He couldn't remember seeing anyone so close to the verge of death. Even the beating he'd given Shadow Gear didn't come close to this. He hadn't been trying to kill them.

"Come one step closer, Brat, and I destroy her," Genma stated with total authority. Gajeel glowered, clenching his fists, but made no move. "Now order your friends to leave this instant, and maybe we can avoid any death here."

"Put her down now, any maybe we can avoid _your _death," Gajeel ground out.

"Gajeel…," said a weak voice. It was Jet, unsteadily rising to his feet. "Do what you have to do. Gear Fourth!" In his battered state the move nearly killed him, but then he was on the other side of the room, cradling Levy's injured form.

"What?" Roared Genma, completely unable to respond to the speed of the movement. He turned back to Gajeel as he heard the sound of chomping. The slayer appeared to be eating something small and metal.

"Now, I want your strength," Gajeel said to himself. And once again, _it _happened. Having eaten such pure iron while so drugged on rage, Gajeel unconsciously activated Dragon Force. His skin turned black, darker than the darkest night. His hair turned white, as pure as the fresh-driven snow.

Outside Sabretooth's lodgings, people fled in panic as entire section of the house exploded. Two forms could be seen, if anyone had the wits to look into it. Completely helpless, Genma was being hit by every single move in Gajeel's repertoire in quick succession.

"Secret Dragon Art: Karma Demon: Iron God Sword!" And the fight was over, as Genma was engulfed by a sword strike that travelled on for nearly a kilometre after it dealt with him. As Dragon Force faded, Gajeel spat on his grievously damaged form, and then jumped back up to the room where Jet and the Shrimp were.

They were both unconscious. No amount of prying could free Levy from Jet's hands; he was clinging onto her for grim death. Gajeel couldn't help but smile at that. He quickly contacted Warren and rushed to meet up with Wendy to administer emergency first aid, easily carrying both of them.

Natsu and Laxus met up with him swiftly, both only a little scuffed for their fights. Fairy Tail was the strongest guild in Fiore, after all.

* * *

Droy sat outside their hospital room as Gajeel came down the corridor. He didn't meet the slayer's eyes. It had taken all his willpower not to begin gorging himself; he was not really at the stage where he could react to people. He burned with shame, the shame of not being there when his friends had needed him.

Gajeel placed a hand on his shoulder. "Don't sweat it. The important thing is that they're safe now." Droy nodded, dumb. Gajeel walked past him to enter the room. The bed closest to the door was Jet's. While he wasn't why Gajeel was there, the slayer couldn't help but be impressed by the man's injuries, and what saving Levy must have taken out of him. He was glad the Shrimp had such a reliable partner.

He briefly wondered if he should make the Shrimp his partner, but two things jumped out. She had a very strict 'no inter-team relationships' policy, and he preferred working alone. If he had her along on dangerous missions, he knew he'd babysit her, whether she needed it or not.

He walked on, to stand by Levy's bed. He couldn't believe his own emotions; how his heart sank upon seeing her. Half her head was covered in bandages, her left eye protected by gauze. The only part of her visible was her shoulders and arms, and they were completely swathed by bandages. She looked so small on that bed, so tiny. So vulnerable.

He realized that his closed fist was bending the metal bars on the end of the bed. He stopped, and realized that he wasn't quite sure why he was here. He was beginning to understand his feelings for the Shrimp, but it wasn't like he had any plans in that regard. He was happy with the way things were. He turned to leave.

"Gajeel…" The voice was like gossamer, so fragile. He froze.

"What is it Shrimp?"

"Thank you…," she said before passing back into a restful sleep.

As Gajeel left, Droy never noticed the tears streaking down his face.


	20. Monster Slaying

**Obviously, we have no idea how this arc will end. I'm hoping no one dies, because if Levy's narration is to the grave of her best friend…well that's just too sad.**

**I'm assuming that the whole thing will go down, and Natsu will save the day, and they'll all go home :)**

* * *

They were marching through a swamp. The cloying, dirty viscous liquid was up to their waists. Which meant that Levy was, once again, cursing her diminutive stature. It was up to her ribs and simply holding her arms out of the stew was tiring.

Behind her, Droy was likewise cursing his own bulk loudly. He'd done brilliantly in losing several stone, but was still rather rotund and it caused extra drag in the liquid. Jet was no happier at the front, slowed considerably, but he had the best time of them all.

Then she mercifully saw Jet rise out of the swamp as his feet finally found a solid purchase. A minute later, the trio sat panting on a small island in the swamp. Their clothes were ruined and swarms of insects constantly pestered them until Droy summoned a maneater to fend them off. They didn't trust any of the local wildlife to be edible, and so had to eat the rations they'd brought with them.

Jet roared in frustration, summing up all of their feelings. Two days ago, they'd taken a monster slaying job, to help measure their strength and growth over the years. It had been a long time since the Hydra effortlessly took them out. But had the flier mentioned a swamp? No, of course not.

"Look on the bright side;" said Droy, "It literally cannot get any worse!"

Torrential rain began to pour out of the sky.

"Sorry," said Droy.

* * *

Droy made a shelter out of plants, and Levy lit a fire with her solid script. They all huddled around it, thoroughly miserable. They were wet and tired, with little prospect of sleep due to the uncomfortable surroundings. Every now and again, _things _slithered out of the stew and no one really wanted to be asleep if they kept coming. But it was simply too dark to press on.

"Are you telling me that between the three of us, we don't have an easier way to cross this swamp?" Jet lamented. "I can run on water, but I need to be in a high gear, and I can't sustain that. On top of that, I'm not sure if the stickiness of the liquid would make it easier or harder."

"I can make platforms," said Droy, "but I might run out if it's too far left to go."

Levy was using the new spell she'd developed, 'Torch' to look out into the swamp. It was essentially a scaled down 'Photon' which she could maintain for a long time, held in the palm of an upright hand. "Same thing as Droy, but probably even less distance." She sighed. "We don't even know what this thing looks like."

"All the accounts say that it's large, swims and has a big mouth with lots of sharp teeth," said Droy. "I doubt there are too many important details after that."

"Levy," said Jet suddenly. "Turn the torch off." Confused, she did so and darkness rushed back in. However, the thing Jet saw was still there; a dim light in the distance, moving around their little campsite. Just enough light to illuminate the vile face behind it.

"What's that?" Squealed Levy.

"Like a deep sea fish…it's like an angler!" Said Droy.

"Shit! Levy, maybe the torch is a good idea!" Jet shouted. Levy aimed the beam at the small light. The beast was revealed. Its face was truly, truly vile; a huge pair of bulbous eyes, completely opaque. A mouth, even closed still showed many long, needle like teeth. Its grey body was long as a bus and like an eel, slithering along the water's surface, but its fins were almost like primitive feet, pulling it over tree roots as it went.

It hissed at the bright light and retreated back into the gloom, deciding to abandon this prey for the moment.

"Well," said Jet, shaking a little, "I think we found it."

* * *

It was a long, long night, but finally the sun had risen, illuminating the stinking quagmire. It was not a pleasant sight, but infinitely better than when visibility had been zero. The weather was clear for the moment, and now was a good time to move on.

They had descended back into the bog, and made their way in the direction the _thing _had fled. Thankfully, they appeared to be heading up a gentle slope and the depth gradually got less and less. The swamp eventually gave way to rocky ground, to the trio's delight. It was only a short distance from there to a cave. The unspoken assumption was that was the beast's lair. Only one way to find out.

They brushed off the worst of the muck and changed into clothes they'd been carrying in their backpacks. Simple t-shirts and shorts, but it was important to be out of their drenched attire.

Levy led the way, Torch in hand. They needn't have worried about that, as the cave immediately opened onto an enormous area, open to the sky. Water ran down the cave's middle, separating Shadow Gear from the awful things on the other side.

Egg sacs. Hundreds and hundreds of them all piled on top of each other. Worse, some had already burst and their occupants missing. The remaining all looked bulbous and ready to hatch at any second.

"Just one made enough mess for us come out here," gasped Jet, "What could this many do?"

"No," said Levy, a moment of frightening clarity descending. "Not one. One animal doesn't lay eggs."

As if to emphasise her point, there was a hideous wet slapping noise from the river's source as one of the creatures pulled itself from the water to stare at them. A dozen or so babies were arrayed around its bulk, making some kind of high pitched warbling.

The mother – if it was female – made a low pitched ululation, a clear warning signal in any language. It snapped its jaws as it did so, making a gnashing sound over the top of the wail. There were more splashes, and they were surrounded by five of the things, each with its own litter of young.

"Well," said Jet.

"Huh," said Levy.

"Yep," said Droy. "Well, at least it can't get any worse."

There was a rupturing noise as eggs began hatching.

"Shut up!" Shouted Levy and Jet at the same time.

"Okay," said Droy mournfully.

With a deep throated scream, the adults all charged in, followed heedlessly by the babies, apparently already capable of murder.

"Droy! Raise us up!" Shouted Levy. Droy complied; producing a leafless tree that gathered the trio up as it grew, supporting them on three separate, strong branches.

"Solid Script: Oil!" The gushing fluid covered the ground beneath them for several metres, causing the ungainly creatures to lose their impetus.

"Nice going!" Jet targeted one of the adults. "Speed Magic: Bullet Kick!" Standing on one leg, Jet hammered the other in the direction of the adult, and it shuddered under the air pressure caused, backing away. The others began to slither in more slowly; they had no traction, but sliding was their main form of transport through the swamp anyway.

Then to their great surprise, the babies began to leap. Gathering their tails beneath them, their bodies formed powerful springs and the hurled themselves recklessly into the air. Jet cried out as he ripped one off of his forearm, needle-teeth leaving bloody gouges. He threw it back down and began kicking more incoming out of the air.

Droy began to manipulate the tree he was standing on, pods blooming and sending shows of needles into the air, lancing the infant monsters. Branches whipped out, smacking more down. Still more came on.

Levy produced a low power 'Shock' in each hand, as she had to conserve power, and hit the young creatures with a single blow each. Two got past, grabbing her left bicep and right thigh, but she switched her right hand to 'Quake' and took them out with the impacts.

As the infants died, the five adults made it to the tree. They reached up, grabbing branches with their mouths, and began to shake the tree. Only Droy, able to seal his feet to the wood was able to maintain his balance. Levy's injured leg failed and she crashed into the oily floor below. Jet had to leap, and managed to clear the oil, but found himself surrounded by the bulk of the children. They came at him in huge waves and he switched up to third gear, desperately trying to knock them away.

Getting to her feet, Levy found two of the adults confronting her, but fortuitously, they were close together. No time to hold back now, she thought. She launched Tachyon, keeping the power to a minimum to avoid completely exhausting herself. Still, the powerful beam obliterated their heads and drilled into the cave wall for a few metres. Then she had to quickly defend herself as more and more of the children came at her.

Having cleared some space, Droy began to tackle the two monsters that snapped up at him. With the advantage of his position, it was actually surprisingly easy. Showers of needle-spines struck them in their huge eyes and gaping mouths, causing grievous damage. He followed it up with a Hydragora, splitting its heads between the two, and finishing them off in a clutch of lasers.

The final adult, hurt by Jet's earlier ability, rounded on him. Jet was tiring and covered in scratches, but nonetheless successfully holding the little things at bay. The adult roared in, triumphant.

"Gear fourth!" In a blazing strike, Jet swept under the thing's jaw, driving its head upwards and its own overgrown teeth into its brain. It collapsed like a sack of potatoes, no longer under any motive power. The battle raged on as the infants, heedless of their own preservation continued to attack until there was none left.

Droy came down from his tree, helping Levy off of the slippery oil. She used the running stream to clean her shoes off so that she could stand properly. Droy had come out of the engagement rather well, with only a few nicks, but both Jet and Levy were covered in bloody welts and exhausted from using such high end magic. Droy summoned a mandragora to put the egg sacs on fire. None of them felt particularly happy about slaying the helpless, but even as children those things were too dangerous.

"Wasn't it bigger?" Asked Droy suddenly. Levy and Jet looked at him, puzzled. "These were a bit bigger than us, but wasn't the one last night as large as a train carriage?"

"Hmm," said Levy thoughtfully. "In fish, the female is often much larger than the male. So it might be that these five were its harem that gave her these eggs."

Jet's eyebrow twitched. "How can you be so smart and yet completely miss the point?" There was a subsonic roar, of something large and powerful as the mother returned to the cave. It was as large as Droy remembered. It eyed the corpses of its family and the burning egg sacs, finally alighting upon Shadow Gear, the unspoken rage obvious.

It crashed towards them, making huge impacts as it did so. It tossed aside a Daemon Blossom like paper, and Levy's 'Photon' didn't seem to affect its simple eyes. Before it reached them, it pivoted on a forelimb, sweeping its tail across in a huge arc, sending the trio flying across the cave, but they righted themselves and landed feet first.

Gathering her wits, Levy turned to Jet. "Can you use fifth gear right now?"

"It'll take me some time. You'll need to stall. Huh?" That last comment was about the fact that Levy had summoned a 'Sword' in his hands. He grinned. "Gotcha. First Gear! Second Gear!"

"C'mon Droy," she yelled. "Tachyon!" Putting every last ounce of strength into it, she hoped she even might take it out, but the hard to use spell refused to cast in her battered state and exploded in her hands, toppling her. It did make the beast hesitate, unsure of what had just happened.

"Gear Third!"

"Realizing he needed time over destructive power, Droy summoned a seemingly endless stream of razor thistles. The blades vines rebounding from its tough hide. It snapped at them, cutting off bits here and there, driving inwards.

"Gear Fourth!"

It slammed a 'hand' down, knocking Droy and Levy aside in a spray of rubble.

"Gear Fifth, Hummingbird Slash!"

The beast roared, its belly slit open from throat to groin, bisected organs spilling foully from the wound. It gave one final screech and then gave in, its massive weight shaking the ground. The sword in Jet's hands disappeared in a puff of magic.

"Did you just name that attack while you were powering up?" Blustered Levy.

"Yeah, so?" Replied Jet.

"Nuh-uh, you have to sheathe the sword when you're done for it to be a hummingbird slash," stated Droy.

"I thought that was Iai," said Jet thoughtfully.

"No that's when you unsheathe the sword," said Levy helpfully.

"Oh."

A moment passed and they all fell about laughing at the absurdity of their conversation, relief flooding. They shouted in unison.

"Shadow Gear!"


	21. Levy's Solo Mission, Part 1

Jet and Droy couldn't have looked more aghast if Levy had told them that she was actually a daemon wearing human flesh.

"By yourself?" Said Jet, concern clearly etched over his features. Levy had decided that being bold was the best course of action here.

"Mm. It's not too far away, and it's just helping an alchemist decode some instructions. The pay is good, though, and I've gotta work through my back rent." She shuddered briefly, remembering the sum still to go. Jet reached over and took the flier out of her hands, examining it. He almost looked like he was disappointed that he couldn't find anything suspicious about it.

Levy went on. "There's a whole bunch of small jobs if you want something to do while I'm gone." She gestured towards the board. "It'll be good to make a bit extra."

Droy smiled at her. "If you promise to be safe, I'll promise to lose a stone by the time you're back."

"It's a deal," beamed Levy. Jet rose, towering over her.

"I want to do something before you go," he said, "so why don't you go and tell Gajeel you're leaving?"

"Eh? Why Gajeel?" She said, flushing like a schoolgirl. Jet smirked and walked away.

* * *

"A solo mission?" Questioned Gajeel with a mouthful of nails. "Will you be alright?" It was unusual for Gajeel to show concern for anyone and Levy flushed again. Why? Why only about him?

"I'll be fine," she replied, a little more angrily than she intended. "I'm not a little glass figurine, you know." To her surprise Gajeel laughed.

"I know that!" He said scornfully. "But a little extra muscle never hurt anyone."

"I don't think I want you bumbling around an alchemy lab," she said, thinking rather much of a bull in a china shop. "And I don't see any potential for outside interference."

"Does anyone?" The slayer asked sarcastically. Before Levy could reply, Jet walked over and thrust something into her hands. It was one of Warren's telepathy cards.

"Now you can call us if you need help," he said.

"Eh? But I've never needed one before!"

"Good idea, flat foot!" Said Gajeel heartily. "Makes me feel a lot better!"

"But I…," she replied clumsily. Jet reached down and moved her chin so that she was looking up at him.

"What changed was seven years," he said sadly. "Surely you'll do us this favour so that we don't worry."

She smiled a little morosely. "OK Jet, I understand."

* * *

She sat on the train reading a book she'd bought recently. With her second origin, she was up to using x60 wind reading glasses and quickly finished it. She hoped it might prove useful for this mission, as it was on ancient alchemical formulae. It was quite an interesting subject.

She carried her usual large bag full of books on her lap, as she'd forgotten that she couldn't reach the overhead compartment by herself. That had been a little embarrassing.

The train was quite busy and at the next station a large, burly man sat next to her. He was wearing jeans and a vest, revealing his muscular arms. His head was shaven save for a goatee, and he had the expression of a bruiser. His shoulder had a guild stamp, but she didn't recognize it. He was not the sort of person she would voluntarily sit next to.

"What'cha readin' little girl?" He asked in a deep, menacing voice. In truth, Levy wasn't intimidated. They were on a crowded train, and if he did anything untoward, he'd be sucking a 'Shock'. She dealt with him as she dealt with most people; with boundless enthusiasm.

"_Alfredo Yu's A History of Alchemy. _It's really quite good! Have you read it?" She beamed up at him. He made a dismissive noise, seemingly taken aback by her forthrightness.

"Readin's fer sissies."

"Oh, that's not true! Here, would you like this?" She reached into her bag and proffered a collection of short stories. "It's lots of little books, so it's good for beginners! I'm sure you'll find one that you'll like!"

Now he looked shaken, as if he didn't understand how someone could be so nice, particularly when he'd come in with such a bad mood. "Um…thank you." He took the book but didn't open it.

"I'm Levy! A Fairy Tail mage!" She twisted in her seat to show off her guild stamp on her shoulder blade. "Who are you?"

"Fairy Tail…," he stammered, suddenly looking like he'd got in over his head. The image of Natsu beating Sting and Rogue was in his mind. "I'm Akaryu, from Red Chimera." Levy hadn't heard of the guild, but there were lots and lots of tiny guilds over the world.

"Let's be friends, okay?" She winked.

"Y-yeah," he had stammered before falling into silence.

* * *

She got off the train at the same stop Akaryu did and bid him a hearty goodbye. He made a promise to try reading the book she'd given him and went on his way.

Walking around, she finally found the alchemist's shop and knocked on the door. As she waited, she noticed the runic defences around the building. Nothing like Frieds, but it would reinforce the walls considerably. It was a common practice for an alchemist, to stop a failed experiment from taking a chunk out of the street.

A wizened old man opened the door. "Oh my, are you from Fairy Tail? You're so…young!" Levy had been braced for a 'short' and breathed in relief.

"I'm Levy, Levy McGarden!"

"Greetings, I'm Albert Muller, pleased to meet you. Do come in! You must be tired! Can I make you a spot of tea?" He bustled her inside and the place immediately lit up Levy's face like a little child. There were half a dozen tables all groaning under the weight of multiple experiments – flasks and beakers, multi-coloured liquids, it was like a dream.

He led her over to a table buried under a slew of books and scrolls. He gestured to some documents.

"I think these are important to my research. They're in ancient Hylian, and I've been trying to decipher them myself – I'm something of a linguist myself, but there's something I can't quite make out – ah, but I'm rambling. Here, have a quick look yourself, see if you can see what I mean."

Levy sat down and began to read while Albert went and made her a cup of tea. By the time he returned she gratefully accepted it. "I think I see what you mean, it's definitely Hylian, but the grammar syntax is wrong for some reason."

"My, you are a bright young thing!" He sounded pleased. "It took me a long time to figure that out!"

She smiled, and sorted through her bag, taking a book out and opening it. "Now if I remember correctly, there was a period in Hylia when the King ordered all military documents to be encoded. I think that's why this is odd. If I can just find the encryption sequence…"

"So erudite! I should have called Fairy Tail sooner. Silly old fool like me trying to do this by myself."

A little while later, Levy had finished. She frowned as she read over the translated script. It seemed to detail a binding ritual, of sealing something alive within something inanimate.

"You're trying to put souls in objects?" She asked, a little worried.

"What? No!" He picked a couple of items off a shelf and returned to her. One was a little doll, like a wooden mannequin, and the other was a smooth, oval crystal. "This is an animation lacryma," he stated proudly. "What I'm trying to do is find a way to bind the property of the crystal to the doll. I'm trying to make toys."

He was beaming, and Levy's face lit up. "So if you could, the doll could move by itself?"

He nodded. "I need to work on the awareness of it, to get it to work better to its surroundings, but in theory, yes. The problem is that it doesn't register the doll as part of it. Part of my research is to make a conductive material that can be attuned to the lacryma and receive the motion enabling properties."

"Oh, it's so cool!" Levy gushed. "I always wished my dolls could move and…," she trailed off embarrassed, but Albert smiled.

"It's always good to retain the inner child," he said happily.

* * *

After that, he had shown Levy around his lab. His specialty was trying to make lacryma as pure as possible, without flaws. They were all small scale, but he had some fine craftsmanship. He had several elemental lacryma. She gingerly avoided the thunder lacryma, remembering her time with Shadow Cobra. Then there was Orga – she was beginning to share Lily's fear of lightning.

She had suddenly panicked when she realized that night had fallen and she hadn't found an inn, but Albert kindly offered to let her sleep on the sofa in his basement. Apparently the ground floor was all labs, and the top floor was his living space. The basement was full of clutter, but there was a sofa crammed in there too, and for someone as petite as Levy, it was comfortable enough.

She fell asleep quickly enough, but woke up in the early hours, unable to fall asleep again. She turned on the light and began looking through some of the clutter in the room, reasoning that he wouldn't have let her sleep there if it was a secret. She found some old photos of him standing with a woman and a young boy of about ten. She smiled sadly, guessing the woman, his wife, had passed away. She wondered about the son. Albert was quite old; he might have outlived him too. The son would be fifty? Sixty? It was hard to say.

She sighed and continued to sift through the junk. At was quite a while before she noticed the door. It was heavy and iron. She stood there looking at it. A part of her said that it would be rude to trespass. Another said that if it was secret, he'd have locked it or forbidden it. Another said; it's a door – open it.

Goddamn my curiosity, she thought.

She tried the handle, and it wasn't locked. It was so heavy though, that she had to press her shoulder against it. There was a light switch and she flicked it. As the dim lights illuminated the room, she focussed on the pride of place.

There was a suit of armour, seemingly made entirely out of pure thunder lacryma. It was on a heavy iron mannequin. The tables and walls were lined with weaponry, all of the blades made out of that same pure lacryma; fire, wind, thunder…

She wondered what this was. The room was old, and didn't appear to have been used in a long time. Maybe he manufactured weaponry before retiring? The more she thought about it, the less sinister it seemed. There were plenty of blacksmiths making powerful weapons, just ask Erza about it.

She went over to the armour and gently, touched the helmet. It didn't shock her, so she reached up and took it off, stretching high to do so. She handled it and couldn't help but admire the artwork in its design. Knowing it to be silly, she placed it upon her own head. It was incredibly loose and heavy, designed for a man much larger than her.

"Solid Script: Mirror," she whispered. She admired herself in the word, laughing at the silliness of it. As she tried to take it off, she stumbled and the heavy weight sent her to the floor. As she rubbed her sore bottom, the helmet skittered along the floor, making a dreadful racket.

Lights went on upstairs and she heard footsteps. "Levy dear, are you okay down there?" Albert appeared wearing a nightgown.

"Ah, I'm so sorry, I couldn't sleep and I…," she stopped as he laughed.

"Far be it from me to stifle a clever girl's curiosity," he said, eyes twinkling. "I'm afraid this awful nonsense is the stuff I made in my youth to make a living. Lacryma weapons sell well, but the armour never caught on." He picked up the helmet, smiling sadly. "Shame, I did love it so."

He was deep in thought for a minute. "If you're from Fairy Tail, you must know of Erza."

"Yes, she's one of our most famous mages," Levy replied.

"The armours she wears, such as the lightning or flame empress armours are much more refined versions of this, much lighter and more flexible. This is stronger, but the weight makes it unusable for general combat." He smiled suddenly. "She bought one of my swords once. I was so proud that such a famous mage deemed it worthy."

He seemed so sad, like he missed his past life, though he had said that making weapons was nonsense earlier. Toys seemed to suit the gentle man a…lot…more. Crap, thought Levy, thought processes clicking into place.

"When did your son die, Albert?"

He didn't seem surprised by the question. "He was twelve. There was a fight between rival guilds and he got caught up in it. He was an innocent bystander." His voice was terribly sad, but it was an old wound. "I got into toys for his memory. I wanted to make the world a happier place, not one filled with violence."

Suddenly, a sceptical part of Levy's brain flared. The timelines didn't match up. Erza was only twenty, and she bought the sword when she was already famous, so within the last five years? But the photo of his son had shown the man at least a decade or two younger. Maybe he kept swords that he'd made but not sold?

Wait.

Upstairs he was still working on refining pure elemental lacryma. But this armour, supposedly old, was pure. In fact, it looked flawless.

Too heavy for a human to wield.

Implanting animation lacryma.

No.

Nonononono.

Levy suddenly took a step backwards, away from Albert. He very suddenly looked like a different person in her eyes. He turned to look at her, puzzled. As he registered her expression, he sighed. "Damn. I was hoping that we could avoid this. Maybe you're too clever for your own good."

Levy held up a hand. "Don't do this! I am a powerful mage!" Albert laughed.

"Silly girl, you must have noticed the runes around this building. They prevent any magic from being cast within these walls." Levy panicked and actually tried to fire Tachyon. Nothing came. Fire. Nothing. He advanced on her. Desperate, she swung at him. Despite his age and seeming frailty, he was much, much stronger than her, and easily overpowered her. Fists clubbed her head, and she fell onto the hard stone floor.

She scrabbled at her pocket, trying to retrieve the card Warren had given Jet. She got it into her hand and it briefly glowed, but then he was on her, driving his boots into her tiny frame. The card slipped from her fingers as she blacked out.

Her last thoughts were _not again…_

* * *

Back in his room, Warren stirred briefly. What was that? He raised himself upright and listened. No noises were forthcoming and he fell back into a peaceful sleep.


	22. Levy's Solo Mission, Part 2

"Three days," Jet shouted, pacing back and forth. "No word in three days!"

Warren raised his hands. "Look man, she hasn't called. That probably means that things are fine."

"But if she was delayed, wouldn't she have called to say so?" Asked Droy.

They were at the bar. Mirajane watched on with caution from behind the counter, and Makarov sat on the counter itself, legs folded beneath him. Gajeel sat down from them, munching a bowl of nails. He turned to Jet and spoke.

"For the good of my mental health, I've chosen to believe that the Shrimp is fully capable of looking after herself. Weren't you the one saying she scored over a thousand at MPF?"

Jet looked a little better, but said "That spell is unreliable and drains all of her power. Honestly, I think it'd be more like two to three thousand if she really mastered it, but a miss means that she's helpless."

Makarov, who'd been checking the details of the job finally stood and entered the conversation. "The town she's in is the province of Red Chimera. Their guild master lost to me at a drinking game so he owes me a favour. I'll give him a call and see if he can find anything out. Until then, you must trust your fellow mage to look after herself."

* * *

Levy was annoyed. Not scared. Not threatened. Annoyed. She was in a little room just off the armoury, shackled to the wall, but with chains long enough that she could get halfway across the room. She sat, cross-legged, cheek resting against a fist.

Albert had been fairly conscientious, bringing her regular meals, and had not harmed her in any way since knocking her out. He'd brought her more scrolls to decipher. She'd refused, and he left her alone for a day to think it over. He wasn't a good disciplinarian, she thought.

He returned, angry to see she'd done no work. Unsure how to handle the situation, he stuck her across the face with the back of his hand. In return, she giggled.

"Really? A backhand? That's the best you've got? Jeez, even my _boyfriend _beat the crap out of me, branded me and crucified me. But oh no, a backhand! Oooooh!" She stressed the word boyfriend. He was a stranger; he didn't need the full backstory.

"Listen you; I've got a host of lacryma out there to torture you with. Want a thunder lacryma in your face?"

"Psh. I've been there. I electrocuted myself to get out of it, in fact. Hell, the last time I was kidnapped, Sabretooth's Orga shocked me half to death. I've probably built up an immunity to lightning by now," she said off-handedly.

"How many times have you been kidnapped?" He asked incredulously.

"Uh…oh crap, there was Shadow Cobra, the time I had to fight Ariane, Sabretooth…jeez, I'm forgetting some…seven?" She was counting them off on her fingers, as if it was the most matter-of-fact thing in the world.

"What the hell?" He asked, genuinely confused. Levy shrugged.

"I'm small. People see me as an easy target. I'm still alive and kicking, though. I'll be out of this place in a couple of days. Jet'll kick that door down any day now. Maybe Gajeel, but Jet could run here faster. I'm lucky to have such reliable nakama!" She was smiling happily. "Now, do you want some advice on working me over?"

"Well, I'd…," he stammered.

"No, of course not. You're not a bad person, just a very sad one. I understand. You want to get revenge for your son's death, so you're making an army of sentient armour to wipe out the mage guild here. That's right, isn't it?"

"Don't speak to me like you understand," he snarled, suddenly angry.

"I think you've had a very long time alone with those thoughts," she said, sounding genuinely sad. "I can't pretend to understand the pain of losing a child, I really can't. But I know that it must hurt."

"Those dogs will pay!" He shouted. "Justice will be served!"

"If a mage from a guild killed an innocent, surely the council would have arrested them?" She asked.

"That's not enough! I'll wipe them all out! Not just them, but all mages in the world!" He was frothing at the mouth. Despite herself, Levy giggled again. "What's funny?"

"Sorry, but the idea of you wiping out Erza, Mira or Gildartz…that isn't happening." She laughed. "Then there's Ichiya, Jura and Kagura. Do you have any idea how powerful these people are?"

He got up, stalking out of the door. "You'll see," he hissed.

* * *

There was a knock at the door. Albert went to get it. Standing in front of him was a tall, burly man in a purple vest. His skin was fairly dark and he was bald. Even without the guild mark he'd have recognized Akaryu of Red Chimera.

"What can I do for you?" He spat angrily. The incident with his son was no secret around here. It was history, and Red Chimera purposefully tried to avoid causing this man any more problems. They had a big sin to atone for.

"Sorry to bother you gramps, but we've got a report of a missing mage who was sent here." His usually gruff voice was quite polite when aimed at the elderly man.

"And they sent you?" Akaryu passed for Red Chimera's S-class. He wasn't anywhere near Erza's level, but smaller guilds had lower requirements.

"Well, I happened to meet her, and felt like I owed her one. A little Miss McGarden, am I right?"

"I don't know what a big brute like you would be doing associating with a little treasure like her, but she left already. She went home this morning."

"Oh? That's great. I hope you don't mind, but I've got a warrant from the council to search your property, just to be sure." He showed the piece of paper.

"Why, this is preposterous!" Spluttered Albert.

"I know, I'm sorry, but orders are orders, ya know?"

* * *

"Interesting stuff ya got here," Akaryu said as he looked through the main lab.

"It is what it is," Albert replied guardedly.

"Did she help ya out?"

"What?"

"Miss McGarden. Did she help you with your problem?" He was still looking around as he asked.

"Um…yes, she did."

"That's good. I'm just gonna take a look downstairs. You can stay up here if ya like."

"No, no, I'll come with you."

* * *

Akaryu rapped on the metal door with his knuckles. "Could ya unlock this, please?" Albert seemed a little nervous. "Sorry man, I don't wanna pry, but I gotta check." Shaking, Albert let him in. Akaryu whistled. "Nice Wargear man!"

"It's all very old," said the old man.

"Really? Smells brand new. Course, the big problem is the other smell in here. The smell of human. Can I look behind this door please?" Albert was suddenly shaking violently.

"Hello?" Called a little voice. "Is that you, Gajeel?"

"Yo Shrimp, it's Akaryu, the guy from the train." He casually took the keys from the old man. He didn't fear him in anyway. He was old and frail, and couldn't use magic.

"Don't call me shrimp!" The reply was loaded with such anger for such a sweet girl, he thought.

"Makarov called our guild, worried about you," he said as he went through the keys on the lock. "Figured I owed you one for my foul mood. Also the book. It was…different. Not sure I'm a reader, mind." Finally, the door swung open.

"Ah, thank you!"

"You hurt?" He asked as he undid her manacles. "Your face looks sore."

"Just a few scrapes," she said, massaging her freed wrists.

"Yer pretty tough for a midget," he said smiling.

"I get that a lot. Now, where did you tie up Albert?"

"Hm? I didn't tie him up, he's just back there." Levy frowned at the comment.

"But you took away his lacryma, right?"

"Uh…no?" Akaryu didn't understand what she was driving at, but had the feeling he'd done something wrong.

Levy sighed deeply. "You do, therefore, realize that right now he's animating the suit of armour you passed? The one surrounded by all the weaponry? While we can't cast magic due to his runes?"

"I fucked up, didn't I?"

"A little bit, yeah."

They turned at an awful noise, as the thunder armour came alive. At its core was a large, blue animation lacryma.

"Haha, go get them!" Albert crowed. He fled the room, pulling the door shut behind him.

The armour picked up a fire axe and a lightning sword, and came at the pair in a clunky, awkward gait. It wasn't completely connected; the energy from the animation lacryma was filling in the joints with a pale blue light.

"Three minutes, Short Stack! We gotta keep him busy for three minutes!"

"Why? What happens in – Kyaah!" She jumped aside as the sword sent a bolt of lightning at her. Akaryu wheeled around its right side, fists raised and ready. Faster than the slow armour, he punched it in the head. He recoiled as his knuckles smoked.

"Whole thing's electrified."

"Well duh!" Cried Levy. "It's made out of pure lightning lacryma!"

"You were a lot politer on the train…," Akaryu noted.

"I wasn't in mortal peril then – kyah!" She had to jump again as the armour tried to smite her with the fire axe.

They danced around, using the Lacryma's slow movement against it. Akaryu picked up a large, double-headed fire axe. Its head began to shine, emitting flames. Levy tried to pick up a halberd, but it was much, much too heavy for her. She watched in amazement as Akaryu span the larger weapon effortlessly, disarming the armour.

Then there was a noise like a bubble bursting, and suddenly, she felt lighter somehow.

"Yosh! I told them that if I was in here for ten minutes, they should bust the runes on this building!"

"You had someone who could do that?" Levy was amazed. _You'd be stupid not to have a backup plan, _she thought. Dammit. Why hadn't she?

"Hey, we're not all block-headed fighters!" He grinned. "Satan Soul: Cerberus!" His body began to bulk up even more, red fur sprouting. His face became like that of a wolf, with piercing blue eyes and a mane of bright red fur going all the way down his spine. It was a takeover that Levy had never seen before.

"Let me show ya the might of Red Chimera's Red Wolf!"

"Wouldn't that be Red Dragon, or your name be Akainu?" Pondered Levy.

"Hey, that's just a coincidence! I didn't have my magic when my parents named me did I?" He looked annoyed, like this was a long-running problem for him.

The armour leveled a punch at him, but he easily dodged it, and swung in with the axe, now blazing with fire.

"This is a fire-type takeover. With this, I can massively boost this weapon's output! Yeahyeah!" He spun and slammed the weapon far faster than Levy could follow. Chunks of lacryma flew off of the armour.

"Ah, screw it: Tachyon!" Akaryu looked on in amazement as the beam annihilated the armour and passed on through the wall. "Told you I was tougher than I looked." She was more than a little unsteady after that massive discharge, though.

"No, I said that," he laughed.

* * *

Subduing Albert after that was child's play. The enforcers came to arrest him, and Levy went up to him moments before he was carted away.

"Don't worry," she said, "I forgive you. When the trial comes, I'll testify on your behalf. You don't deserve to spend the rest of your life in a cell. But Albert, think about your son and wife. What would they have wanted you to do if they were still here?"

He cried as he was taken away.

"Yer a forgivin' person, ya know that?" She turned to see Akaryu.

"I've been told that."

"That's an interesting power you've got there. I can turn people into paste, but I can't turn them into friends."

"Oh, we're friends are we?" Levy smiled up at him.

"Alright, Shrimp. I apologize fer bein' a jackass on the train." He tussled her hair.

"Don't call me Shrimp! And don't act like I'm short! Mou~ why is everyone else so tall?"

"Err…did I hit a raw nerve or something?"

"Four foot ten is a perfectly acceptable height for a young lady! Okay, maybe Lucy's over five feet. And Laki and Bisca. And Erza, Juvia and Evergreen, but I'm not – Kyaaaaaaaah! Wait! I didn't get paid! My back rent! I had to pay train fare and food! I bought a book for this mission!" She collapsed in a pool of self despair, white as a sheet. She whispered. "Why does fate hate the cute?"

"Uhh…I think I'm goin' now. See ya, Shorty!"


	23. Jet's Solo Mission

"It could have gone worse," Levy said. She was sitting at the bar, between Jet and Droy.

Without looking up from his beer, Jet responded with incredulity. "You were kidnapped and held hostage in a basement for three days."

"It was two, I wasn't kidnapped on day one," she pouted.

"You could have been beaten or killed, or even raped," he said angrily.

"But I wasn't," she replied firmly, not giving an inch.

"Jet's right," said Mira entering the conversation. She was frowning ever so slightly, which for Mira meant that she was livid. "You are part of a team for a reason." Levy didn't respond, unsure of how to handle an angry Mira.

"Well," said Droy rising, "It's time for my run. I'm just happy that you're okay." He and Jet glared at each other as he went to leave, an unspoken conversation running between them.

_You be angry. Then she'll like me more._

_Go for your run fatty._

_Don't call me fat!_

"C'mon Jet!" Levy dragged him back into the conversation. "Look, there's a job on the board that'd be perfect for you to do by yourself. Something about a speed freak who needs knocking down a peg or two. I don't see why I can't also do missions by myself."

Trying a rhetorical strategy, Mira asked a question. "Levy, who do you think is the weakest member of Fairy Tail?" She'd expected immediate contrition, the realisation that she needed a bit of muscle, but Levy actually stood up, gesturing in her face with an outstretched finger.

"Aha! I was the weakest on Tenrou Island, and I didn't have seven years of training, but I did get my second origin unlocked! So I reckon Lisanna is the weakest now!"

Lisanna.

Lisanna Strauss.

She'd said to Mirajane Strauss.

Mira's features contorted to moderate anger. Which meant that she was on a murderous rampage.

"Ah…" Levy shivered, face aghast at what she'd brought upon herself.

"Well, I'm taking that mission then, okay, thanks, bye!" Jet disappeared in a cloud of dust and fear.

* * *

Jet took off at a run, using second gear. Pleasant countryside roared past as a bright sun pounded down. It was a good trip, he thought. He always felt good with his muscles moving. The job posted had described how five small towns all close to each other had come under attack by some kind of fast moving mage. He never stayed in one place, always moving on, making tackling him difficult.

Reaching one of the villages, he decided to pick up a drink in a café and plan out his thoughts. As he sat at a table, one of the chairs was pulled back and somebody sat in it. Jet looked up and his expression fell in remembered terror.

"Yo Jet, Long time no see," said Kirion.

The man was, of course, seven years older. His frame had filled out a lot more, and he now sported a beard neatly kept around his mouth. His brown hair was now much longer, reaching almost to his arse, but swept back into an enormous ponytail.

"Y..you," stammered Jet.

"Calm down," he said, "I'm not here to cause any trouble. I've done my time. Four years, in fact. Got out early for good behaviour."

"You kidnapped us!" Jet snarled in anger, thinking more of his friend's safety than his own.

Kirion smiled sadly. "I'm older and wiser now. I was a spoiled child, I'll be honest. I always thought the world should bend to my whims, and I could do anything I wanted. But, now I've joined a guild, to try and make reparations." He pulled back his gi to reveal the symbol of Red Chimera.

_Them again? _Thought Jet. He glared at the other man. It had been seven years. But, this was far too sudden for him to suddenly feel like making friends. Wait…

"Hey, I'm looking for a fast mage, and you're here? A little coincidental, no?"

"Nope, no coincidence," said Kirion smiling easily, "I'm here for the same reason. When I heard about it, I figured you'd turn up sooner or later. Let me help. I want to make amends."

"I don't need your help," Jet said dismissively.

"Probably not, but you've got a lot of ground to cover." He produced a map, which showed the five villages in a pentagon. They were in a quite hilly, almost mountainous region. "What I can do is watch these two villages for you. That way you'll only have to look after three."

Jet looked at the map. "I can cover the distance between any two villages in five minutes. Can you do that?"

"Oh? That is quick, but I think I could manage it," Kirion replied, dripping with sarcasm.

"Then if you want to help me, this is what we'll do. On the hour, we'll move on to the next village. I'll go clockwise, you go counter clockwise. That way, I'm not leaving any one village to you, and we'll cross paths every now and again to compare information."

"Hmm. I see you've been thinking about this."

* * *

For the next few hours the preceded in that manner, jumping between villages every hour and lazily wandering around them looking for trouble in the meantime. It was boring work. Mountain villages were notoriously sleepy places.

Five hours later they met again and compared notes, which was to say nothing. They continued on, as the sun set and the stars began to come out.

In the next village, Jet heard some commotion. Apparently there'd been a break in at the bank within the last thirty minutes. Jet was there fifteen seconds later. There was a huge hole in the wall, and monstrous strength had broken open the vault.

Someone else might miss it, but Jet saw the scuff mark near the hole. Someone had jumped with a lot of force…he followed with his eyes…to the rooftop. Jet leapt, and suddenly he could see a trail of broken roof slates going into the distance. The person was moving in short jumps, impacting hard enough to break them. He took off after them.

He jumped and jumped, following them to the village's edge. They went in a fairly uniform zigzag, and he followed that into the hilly slopes.

"I can see you."

_What, Behind? _Jet turned just in time to take a resounding kick to the head. He pivoted head over heels, crashing onto his feet, dragging a line in the grass as he faced his attacker.

Who was no longer there. _Shitshitshitshit._

No fool, Jet simply leapt. Not in any particular direction, just knowing he had to avoid the next strike. He went forwards, spinning to see behind him. In the space he had just vacated was a familiar man. He had a sharp nose and huge eyebrows, though they were concealed by a metal mask. He wore a strange black bodysuit due to injuries he had taken from Gray and Leon.

"Racer?!"

In mid-air the ex-Oricion Seis member disappeared.

"Speed Magic: Third Gear!"

No one saw the brief tussle that followed, and wouldn't even if they had been there. The two separated.

Jet cursed. Normally, he would move up to fourth or fifth gear, but they drained him far too quickly. Against a fighter of Racer's calibre, he risked losing stamina too quickly. Racer moved oddly. He wasn't so much fast as it was that he teleported. He seemed slow in the turns, but covered straights instantly.

"I remember you," said Racer. His voice was devoid of humanity, of even interest. It was a statement, not a curiosity.

"We clashed before. You beat me then, but I'm a lot faster now." Jet didn't take his eyes off of Racer for a second as he spoke.

"Me too." Racer vanished, and Jet crossed his arms over his body as the expected blow came. He was forced back a huge distance and his arms ached, but he'd stopped it.

_Behind! Again?_

Jet went cart wheeling head over heels, his vision blurring from the blow to the back of his head. He clutched at his skull as he lay on the grass, completely vulnerable. He'd dropped his speed magic from the shock.

"Die."

The word was a statement. Inevitable. Jet could do nothing.

"Body Magic: Impact!"

Racer crashed away, immediately turning to face this new foe.

"Not too hurt are we?" Asked Kirion.

Jet rose, grinning. "Not at all!"

The two tall men stood, facing their opponent. In the moonlit field, they began to glow.

"Speed Magic: Third Gear!"

"Body Magic: Reinforcement Level Three!"

"Come on and die." Racer moved, and they moved to meet him.

Three bodies wheeled in pivoted in a blur of motion. The punches, the kicks – they were faster than bullets. When they separated, almost no blows had landed, but Kirion and Jet were winded from magical expenditure. Racer seemed unphased.

"Next level?" Asked Kirion languidly.

"Psh, Screw that!" Jet replied cockily, and Kuras grinned.

"Speed Magic: Fifth Gear!"

"Body Magic: Reinforcement Level Five!"

Kirion slammed into Racer with Impact, breaking ribs and driving every last bit of air from his lungs. Pivoting on his leading foot, he moved the direction of the impact ninety degrees, hurling him straight up.

Jet was in the air, several metres away from Racer, slightly above him. He outstretched his feet and pure speed magic shot out, forming ten circles between the two combatants. No, not circles, each made the shape of Fairy Tail's guild stamp.

"Speed Magic: Final Attack: Rider Kick!"

As he hit each energy disc, they accelerated him to the next, gathering speed and cloaking his feet with immense energy. He hit Racer like a clap of thunder, sending him into an enormous impact crater. As the dust settled, not only could Racer's unmoving form be seen, but also that the crater was shaped like the guild stamp of Fairy Tail, moulded by his speed magic.

"Showy," commented Kirion.

"Thanks, I try," laughed Jet, before the pair fell over in the long grass.

* * *

As they went to part ways, their mission done, Jet turned to Kirion.

"If you're a member of Red Chimera, are you aware of the mission between Levy and Akaryu?"

Kirion frowned. "Never heard of it. Hard to imagine that rough blockhead getting on with that little thing."

Jet laughed. "Yep. That's what I need to learn, more than anything else. Levy's such a kind person, forgiving and happy. She makes enemies into friends." _And Boyfriends, he added silently._ "When I saw you, I never even considered letting my hatred for you go."

Kirion was silent, unsure of what to say.

Jet smiled and made a thumbs-up. "So, I forgive you, friend! Look me up if want to do another quest together sometime!"

Kirion briefly looked like he was going to cry, but instead extended his hand. Jet took it.

* * *

"Owowow," murmured Jet as he arrived in Magnolia. He'd taken more hits than he first realized, and the strain of the higher gears wore on his muscles. As he walked through town, he noticed Gajeel walking from the direction of Fairy Hills. He was pale and expressionless.

"Yo Gajeel, what's up? Walk Levy home?"

"Not walked. Carried," He said with a thin voice. "Never piss off Mira." He shuddered. "Forced to spar…six hours…Lisanna got stronger in those three months too…so brutal…"

Jet winced. What sort of beating would Gajeel think was brutal? He shuddered, thinking of Demon Mira's face while angry. Maybe he'd just ignore this one.

"How was your solo mission?" It was unusual for Gajeel to show an interest in anyone else. Probably to ingratiate himself with Levy, but Jet didn't mind.

"Haha, horrible. By myself I would have died. We're a team, and we should stay as one. As a single unit, we're far stronger than the sum of our parts."

"Oh. While you were out, Droy took a solo mission too."

Jet face palmed.

"Motherf-"

* * *

**So far Jet has used Ippo's Dempsey Roll, Sanji's Party Table, Brook's Hummingbird Slash and Decade's Rider Kick…**

**Levy's become a Necron Overlord with a Tachyon Arrow…**

**I'll need to think about inspiration for moves for Droy's mission! Any Ideas? He's already got a Digimon for that sunflower monster.**


	24. Droy's Solo Mission

**Well…Fuck. Actually, I think chapter 297 is a good case for everything turning out alright. A bit like when Pain resurrected everyone after his attack in Naruto – you simply can't kill that many main characters at once. She also refers to her beloved dying, which has to be Lucy, Gajeel, Jet or Droy.**

**I expect there to be some kind of happy dues ex machina ending, or maybe time travel with the letter going back to prevent the occurrences. Although, if this arc deals with Zeref and the Dragons…it could be the last one.**

**Nonetheless, I'm so happy to see Levy so badly injured – as it means that she will actually end up doing something! Although I'm a little worried that the camera will pan out and she'll be missing a limb or something…**

**Of course, if it isn't changed, and lots of characters died, and the series continues…Levy will have more screentime! Wooohoooo!**

**Anyways, I'm gonna continue in my happy little universe for the time being, but dear lord, am I looking forward to more manga!**

* * *

Levy and Jet were sitting at a table in the guild. Jet was throbbing from the bruises he'd taken yesterday, and Levy was covered in small cuts and poorly applied plasters from her 'spar' with Lisanna. Fortunately, Mira had appeared to return to her usual demure self.

"So you do you know anything about this mission Droy's gone on?" Jet asked.

Levy looked up from the book she was reading. It was called _Fifty Shades of Grey _and it was awful. It wasn't even written in correct English, before you even tried to get into the bizarre exploits the author considered to be sexual. She decided to pass it on to Erza, but she'd be more discreet than last time, she thought, remembering her face impacting with the wall. There was a growing list of people she was learning not to piss off.

However, Jet had made a huge bounty from turning an ex-Oricion Seis member in to the council. He'd very generously donated it all to Levy to pay off the majority of her rent. She was incredibly grateful. She could actually afford to buy a few things now.

"Umm…I think he chose it because it involved some kind of plant monster."

"Plant monster?" Jet was surprised. "Do they exist?"

"Well, Droy makes some himself…," Levy said.

"That's true…maybe they're not naturally occurring?" Jet pondered.

"Gee…I hope he's okay," said Levy.

* * *

Droy was marching happily through a forest. He was close to his original weight now, and in truth he'd been on the lanky side. He was probably healthier as he was now. Nothing but plants all around him. He liked pants. He understood plants. Unlike girls. Plants were easy. You treated them well, fed them and watered them and bam!

He came across a tree that looked like it'd seen better days. He placed a hand on it and imparted some magical energy. It suddenly became a lot greener, brown leaves fading, trunk straightening. He smiled, for such a little mercy, and he could feel the tree smiling back.

"How could one of you guys be a monster?" He asked.

* * *

He travelled onwards, deeper into the forest. He stopped and checked for signs; a scratch here, broken branches there. There was definitely something large moving around this forest that was for sure. It could be anything, though, even a bear, before you got to the more outlandish possibilities.

He eventually happened upon a glade, a small opening in the otherwise dense tree line. The sun filtered lazily through the canopy above, leaving a pool of light on the ground. He inhaled, taking in the wonderful smell of nature.

A piercing shriek broke the silence.

What? That had been a woman's voice. Droy took off in the direction he'd heard it coming from. He crashed through the foliage, parting it before him where necessary. He almost ran right into the back of the _thing._

It was enormous, two to three times larger than his daemon blossom. Its head was like that of a venus flytrap, a gaping red mouth between ensnaring 'teeth'. It was supported by a think trunk of prehensile vines leading down to animated roots that dragged its bulk around. Dozens of smaller heads and spiked tendrils snaked away from that neck on their own.

And ahead of it was the target of its murder. A young woman, lying on the ground, staring up at _it _with abject fear. She was beautiful, he noted, before turning his attention to the problem.

"Hey! Ugly!" He shouted. The plant monster swung around to face him. Instantly, snapping heads lanced down at him. Droy raised a hand and focussed. An instant before they would have hit him, they turned aside as he manipulated the plant matter.

"Sorry, but I have the advantage here."

It lashed out with a root, too thick for Droy to stop in the same manner. He summoned a Wallnut, but the impact was too much for the plant and he had to leap back to avoid taking the blow.

"Plant Magic: Mandragora!" Fireballs strafed the monster, but it didn't ignite. Some kind of resin or sap oozed from its pores, dowsing the flames. "Damn, I thought that'd work."

He very surely held the plant's full attention now. He felt more than a little in over his head, but no way was he going to back down from a plant. Not today, anyway. Suddenly, it shoved roots into the ground.

_Shit!_

Droy moved, knowing that they would erupt beneath him. Wooden spears broke the soil, and Droy realised that he couldn't dodge them all, and activated a spell that he hadn't been able to use since his weight gain. No, it was better now.

"Plant Magic: Bark Armour!" The roots snapped against his impressive defence. It was now much heavier, much thicker, with huge shoulders, shins and a hefty gorget. **(If you're thinking of a wooden Marauder from Starcraft, you're about right.)**

He slammed his fists together, with an audible quake. "Round two, you overgrown chrysanthemum!"

It might have been his imagination, but he swore that it smiled.

Mouths and spikes rained down as rooted surged up. He shuddered under the impacts, but the armour held strong.

"Plant Magic: Lancing Oak!" From a single seed, a mighty trunk erupted, slender but swift, snaking around in the sky before it locked on to the targets. In a high speed rush it smashed through each of the tiny heads before spearing the beast's neck. The tip of the Oak ground like a drill, pushing through, inch by inch until the head finally parted from the body.

In two halves, the monster fell. Plants withering away, Droy approached the young woman. Now with more time on his hands, he could appreciate her more fully. With the fear fading, her eyes were beautiful brown orbs. Her lips were full and red, and her silky brown hear shimmered in the gloom.

"Err….are you okay?" He asked, blushing at her beauty.

"My hero!" She flung herself around him, hugging him tightly. Droy had never been this happy before. He was the dashing knight saving the damsel in distress. And we all know how that ends…

"I'm Emily!" She said, stepping back and smiling at him. _Not unlike Levy, _he thought of her face, _but much taller and…fuller. _"Thank you so much! What's your name?"

It took Droy almost five seconds to remember. "Uh…Droy. I'm a mage of Fairy Tail. How come you were wondering around this forest by yourself? It isn't safe. Wasn't safe. Well…" He was stammering.

"Oh? I've always lived out here. I know how to read the forest well, but that…thing, that's new." She quivered slightly and suddenly hugged Droy again. "I was so scared. Thank you so much! Tell you what, come back to my house, it's not far! I was picking up plants for dinner anyway; at least let me feed you!"

A beautiful woman who wanted to cook for him?

* * *

"A girlfriend?!" Exclaimed Jet and Levy at the same time.

"Bwahahaha! She's gorgeous!" Droy was really soaking it in. "And boy, can she cook! What's that Jet, how's your love life doing?"

"B…as….ta…..rd…," Jet grumbled. "How could any girl…"

"Because I am her mighty hero who took down a powerful monster by myself! What's that Jet, how many monsters have you slain singlehandedly?" Droy was really mocking now.

"When I had a girlfriend, I was nice to you about it!" Jet shouted

"Sucks to be you!" Having had quite enough, Jet launched at him over the table, and soon, as is Fairy Tail's idiom, a massive riot broke out. Things flew every which way, but none hit Levy, thankfully, as she sat at the table.

It must be nice to be in an open relationship, she thought. Should I try harder with Gajeel? He didn't really seem interested in a deeper relationship. Maybe…no, she gave up. It was fine as it was.

* * *

**Three days later, on their next mission**

Blood spurted in crimson arcs.

Levy fell, a hundred cuts lacerating her small body.

Jet fell, blood spraying from immense cuts on his chest, ribs open to the air.

Droy fell, bones shattering, unable to move.

"Gajeel…," Levy cried.

* * *

**Okay, maybe my universe isn't completely happy, but hey drama and tension, right?**


	25. Gajeel and Levy

"Ah, Gajeel-kun, thank you for coming," said Master Makarov. They were on the second floor, and Makarov sat behind a desk as Gajeel entered, his companion Lily following at shoulder's height.

In truth, Gajeel was nervous. He hadn't heard from the Shrimp in a week, and he was worried. Catching his look, Makarov went on.

"It's about Levy and the others." Gajeel's eyes flared. "Calm down. For the moment, they're alright. I've spoken with Droy through the comm-lacryma. They're in a hospital as we speak."

"What happened?" Gajeel slammed his hands down on the desk. Makarov didn't react to Gajeel's anger.

"The report was a bit confused," he admitted. "Droy was on painkillers. They had to fight a dark mage who ended up being much too powerful for them. From what I could understand, he used a magic similar to the man you fought on Tenrou Island. Yom…Omazu…no…"

"Yomazu," Lily filled in, as Gajeel didn't seem to be able to speak.

"Yes, that's it. A swordsman, reinforcing his blade with some kind of written magic. I don't quite understand how they escaped from him; Droy was a bit unclear on the matter. I am sorry to burden you with this, but I need someone to go and escort them home. They're in no condition to be by themselves."

"How is she?" It was quietly spoken.

Makarov sighed. "It doesn't sound pretty, Gajeel. Jet is still in a serious condition, and it sounds like Levy may be permanently scarred by her injuries, though they sound less grievous."

"I'm goin' then," Gajeel said, turning to leave. "Master?"

"Yes, Gajeel-kun?"

"Thanks for choosing me."

* * *

For the first time in his life, Gajeel was happy to suffer from motion sickness. It allowed him to not dwell on any of his dark thoughts as he waited on the long train ride. Lily watched him with obvious concern written over his features.

He continued to watch him on the way to the hospital. Even for Gajeel, he was unusually withdrawn, introspective. He couldn't find any words to speak to him.

Like after the Sabretooth incident, they found Droy sitting outside the room. He was in quite a state. His left leg and right arm were both in casts. Gauze surrounded part of his face, and he was pale. He turned as he heard Gajeel's footsteps.

"Déjà vu, huh?" He commented sadly, smiling with no joy. Gajeel was itching to see Levy, but he forced himself to stop.

"How are ya?" Droy looked up at Gajeel's question. Again, he smiled bitterly.

"Nothing that won't mend. Jet might be here for a while. His injuries were the deepest. But, to answer your question, she's alright." Gajeel couldn't help but smile at how Droy had phrased that. Droy sighed. "Physically, all of her injuries are shallow. But that means that she felt them more, had more time to…and they're everywhere. She's a mess, Gajeel, but she'll pull through. Remember that when you see her."

* * *

Gajeel entered the room, while Lily politically stayed with Droy. His eyes went wide when he saw Jet. No one could live through that…

His chest was covered by swathes and swathes of bandages and gauze, and yet, Gajeel could still see the injury – a massive 'X' cut onto – no, into – his chest. If this was him after a few days recuperating, what the hell had it been like at the time?

He walked onto Levy's bed, instantly dragging up old feelings. She looked better off than she had after Sabretooth's attentions, but she was pale from blood loss. A Bandage wrapped around her forehead, and Gajeel could see the livid scar underneath.

Covered up cuts spread across every inch of her face and arms, and he worried about what he couldn't see, beneath the blankets. He drew a chair up and sat down, watching her for a while. In truth, he was completely numb. No thoughts were coming, no declarations of love, anger or protection. He didn't know what to feel.

After a while, he reached over and held her hand. It might sound strange, but seeing her tiny hand in his own oversized mitt made him realize how truly small she was for the first time. How fragile, how…precious. He could have broken that hand with ease, but it was just so much more…valuable than his. He squeezed ever so gently, and to his surprise, he felt the tiniest pressure back.

"Gajeel…" She was looking at him, tears in the corner of her eyes.

"It's okay, Shrimp, yer safe here," he replied quietly, trying to be reassuring. She nodded, seemingly grateful for those words. Gajeel reminded himself that for all of her spunk, all of her strength, she was not a soldier. She didn't understand or fit into this world where such injuries, such horrific battles happened.

After all, she was not a monster, like him.

She shook suddenly, some spasm of pain, and Gajeel unconsciously reached out with one hand as the other squeezed tighter.

"I'm okay," she breathed, with a voice so brittle that it sounded like it might break at any second. "Thank you so much for coming to see me."

Awkward, Gajeel didn't want to look at her, but those hazel eyes locked him in place. How could he look away?

"Of course I would Shrimp, you know how much you mean to me."

"Do I?" Her face was smiling, but like her voice, it was fragile. Gajeel made no conscious decision, but he leaned over and –gently- rested his forehead against hers.

"You mean the world to me," he admitted. Aside from Jet's laboured breathing, silence descended on the small room. "I…love you." Levy's eyes closed as if great pain, tears flooding, soaking her pillow. It wasn't what Gajeel had expected from his declaration, but then, choked with tears was her reply.

"I love you too." Gajeel suddenly understood her reaction as his own face scrunched up. How could she? He was a monster. In most respects, Gajeel was not one to dwell on his past. He understood that he'd simply had a bad start in life, and once he'd found his true nakama, he'd become a better person. There was only one sin he could not absolve, and the victim of that sin was the only one who freely forgave him for it.

"Hold me," she said. She was crying, trembling. "I…I want to be held!"

Gajeel wasn't really sure how this was supposed to work, but he quickly removed his boots and slid into the bed as she moved over. He put an arm around her, and she nestled into the crook of his arm, head resting on his chest. With that arm, he gently held her body close to him.

"So nice," she said, sounding like a little child. "It's so comfortable..." It took Gajeel a moment to realize that she'd fallen asleep. Unsure of what to do, he looked up at the ceiling, waiting, enjoying the warmth, the feel of her small body.

"Best feeling in the world, am I right?"

"Yer awake, then?" Gajeel replied gruffly. This was not a moment he'd ever intended on sharing.

Jet and Gajeel were both on their backs staring at the ceiling.

"When I think of my ex, that's the thing I miss most. The simple feeling of her head resting on my chest. It's such an innocent moment, uncluttered by sexual desire, leaving only the feeling of love, of warmth, joy and comfort." He laughed lightly, then grimaced, making a spluttering noise.

"Ya shouldn't push yerself, flyboy."

"Flyboy? That's a new one. Anything to avoid using someone's actual name."

"Oh?" Gajeel grinned. "Is that right, Sarusuke?"

There was more weak laughter. "Well played, metalhead. To think she'd end up with you…well played indeed. You take better care of her than we did. She's special, right?"

"Unfortunately, that's not my job. It'll be up to you two to take care of her, she's made that quite clear." Gajeel didn't sound happy or unhappy. "I know today's not a usual day. And when I look at yer injury, I'm glad that her nakama are so reliable. If it were up to me, I'd wrap her in cotton wool and make her stay safe, but that's not her, and that's not her job."

"Heh heh, you're getting soft, Kurogane."

"Well, I appear to be pickin' up small cute things," he laughed, thinking of Lily. Jet laughed too. At the vibration, Levy snuggled in closer, seemingly still asleep.

"Yep, best feeling in the world, yer got that right."

* * *

Outside in the hall, Lily's ears twitched.

"Remind me to kill him later," he said to Droy.

* * *

It was a while before Gajeel extricated himself from Levy's embrace, and mostly because visiting hours were over. He walked out onto the streets, followed by Lily.

"Hey, where are we going?" The Exceed asked.

"Where do ya think?"

"Our mission was to retrieve them, not complete theirs!"

"Then stay here," Gajeel said dismissively. Lily grunted, but followed him. As they walked, snow began to fleck the streets. It was cold, though Gajeel didn't appear to notice. As he walked, he was trying to gather his thoughts.

As he noted earlier, Gajeel didn't dwell on his past much, but he kept drifting back to _that _night. It was the one thing he never talked about. The one unforgivable sin.

When he'd hurt her.

He'd enjoyed it.

_He'd taken out those idiots first, using extreme force to quickly take them out of the fight. He broke the ribs of the one with the stupid hat, and then his arm. He broke the leg of the stupid-hair guy, and then hit him so hard in the skull that he thought he'd killed him._

Lily looked up as Gajeel clenched his fist, teeth bared.

_Then he'd beaten her for fun. He didn't want to break her; he wanted to drag it out, to enjoy himself. So he'd held back, pounding her everywhere, but lightly. It was fun. She was so soft, she was easy to hit. He'd let her go a couple of times, to watch as she tried to get away. Her tears and squeals of pain had egged him on. _

Lily flinched as Gajeel punched a hole into the pavement.

_Finally, with her almost spent, he took her over to one of the braziers lighting the night street. He sat on her thighs, pinning her legs. With his left hand, he bound both of her wrists and held her prostrate on the ground, completely helpless as he turned his right fist into iron and placed it into the fire._

Gajeel roared into the sky.

_With his hand burning hot, he slowly, torturously drew the symbol of Phantom Lord, searing it onto her flesh. She cried out in agony at every stroke. At the very last, just before she finally passed out, she asked; "Why?"_

"Why?" Gajeel shouted. "Why? Why did I do that?" Passersby hurried away from the seeming madman.

"You were a different person." Lily had only guessed his thoughts, but he knew Gajeel well enough. "You have a new life now. You must let this go."

"I refuse," Gajeel stated.

"They have forgiven you. All of them have utterly and without remorse forgiven you."

"That makes it worse!" Gajeel was crying as he shouted. "They should hate me!"

Lily, transforming into battle mode, punched Gajeel into the pavement. "The man I followed to earthland was not so weak! Are you so unaware of the bonds of your guild, the strength of those bonds that allow you to be forgiven?" Lily was shouting. "What do you have to do to see that?"

Gajeel got up. He walked away. "I don't know, but there is somethin' to do in the meantime."

* * *

Gajeel found the bastard by smell. Blood soaked bodies left an easy trail to the scene of the fight, and from there he followed his scent. As he stalked, the smell blazed an image in his mind; the image of the man he was going to kill.

At last, he cornered the bastard in a warehouse. He came at Gajeel with that very same technique that he'd felt from Yomazu, cutting his iron scales. And that technique had BEEN TURNED ON SOMEONE SO **GENTLE AS THE SHRIMP!?**

With his new strength, the strength to go toe to toe with Sting using Dragon Force, Gajeel easily overpowered this man, breaking and eating his sword. The pain the cuts left felt good; like he deserved it. He stood over the man's prone form.

"I know what I have to do," Gajeel whispered, raising a fist.

"Gajeel, no!" Cried Lily.

His fist slammed down next to the man's head. He leaned down, coming inches away from the man's face. Gajeel glared with bloody murder in his eyes. "For hurtin' her….I forgive you." The man blinked, confused. "It is the only thing she would ask of me. Not vengeance, not death. I forgive you."

Lily looked on, smiling. Maybe the brute had grown just a little bit. Then Gajeel smacked the man unconscious. "Still the Shrimp's gotta eat. Might as well collect your reward for her."

* * *

Several days later, Gajeel sat next to Levy's hospital bed. Jet was up and about, getting a bit of exercise on his injured body. Things were a bit awkward between Gajeel and Levy, but as her physical health returned, so had her natural positivity. She had a faint scar on her forehead, and honestly, Gajeel loved it. It accentuated her beauty.

"If we're gonna date, we should share some of our secrets," she said coyly.

"Like what?" He replied gruffly.

"I know," she said brightly, "what movie made you cry the most?"

Gajeel grumbled something incoherent, and then enunciated. "Toy Story 3. Don't look at me like that, it was sad when they all held hands!" Levy giggled and the look on her face made the embarrassment seem worthwhile.

"Ok, now your turn," she said. "Ask me anything."

"Okay," he replied, grinning like the devil, "What's your actual height?"

Levy seized up. "C'mon Shrimp…," Gajeel coaxed with amusement in his voice.

"F…four foot ten," she replied, looking down, flushing. Gajeel laughed.

"Is that even possible? How do you not hit five foot?"

"You've had your turn," she replied angrily. "What's the most embarrassing thing you've ever done?"

"Uhh…well once I left my house and the door closed on my trousers, rippin' 'em off." He laughed. "I was standin' on my doorstep in my underwear! Wasn't funny at the time, mind!" Again, watching her face light up made everything worthwhile.

"Well, I was going to ask yer bra size, but I already know that's an A." He caught the pillow she threw at him, smiling. "So – what's the most embarrassin' thing that you've ever had happen _because yer such a shorty?"_

"No!" She gasped.

"Oh, this'll be good," he said, resting his feet on the bed and putting his arms behind his head.

"Err…um…well, I had to put a bag of books in the overhead compartment on the train…but I couldn't really reach, and as I was struggling, the bag opened and every single book fell out, one at a time and hit me on the head." She was blushing so much, her fingers twiddling. She didn't notice Gajeel moving in to sweep her up in his arms.

"Ya got no idea how beautiful ya are, do ya?"

She kept blushing as he moved in to kiss her. "I've never…it's my first time…"

"Mine too," said Gajeel, so close to her lips. "Be gentle, yeah? Gihi!"

She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, and they kissed.

* * *

**Well, I must say that I really enjoyed writing that. I'd really appreciate a bit of feedback on this one, if it's well received; I think I'd like to do a sort of 'spin-off' focussing on GaLe. I don't wanna spend too much time on it in this book, but I do love them so!**


	26. The Five Senses, Part 1

"Isn't it great, Levy?" Crowed Droy.

"Shut up…," Jet hissed.

"I mean, having someone to wake up next to in the mornings; it's just great, right?"

"Stop it..," Levy said quietly, flushing bright red. She wasn't good at talking about Gajeel in public yet.

"Put your hand up if you had sex last night!" Droy raised a hand as he spoke. Levy managed a biologically impressive feat; somehow find a deeper shade of crimson to turn, steam emanating from her head.

"Shut up you shit shovelling bastard!" Jet shouted over Levy's head. Droy leaned in close to his face, ignoring Levy's discomfort.

"Oooh…Not jealous are we?" He leered. Levy sighed. An unintended side effect of these two moving on from her was that they treated her more like one of the guys, and less with kid gloves. She shoved them both away unexpectedly, breaking up the fight a lot like you would do with dogs.

"C'mon guys, it's a beautiful day, we're on the way to a good mission, can we talk about something else?" It was true. They were in a foreign village to meet their client, and the sun beamed down with great force out of a crystal blue sky.

Jet made a noise of annoyance but didn't speak, and Droy was content to leave his smugness as an expression.

* * *

"Ah, hello hello!" Said Mr Dargon, their client, as he opened the door for them. "Please come in!"

He led them into a large library lined with books (Jet and Droy placed their hands on Levy's shoulders to prevent her veering off course) and then over to a table groaning under a mound of documents.

Unable to restrain her, Levy bounded over to the table and began scanning with an expert eye. Mr Dargon spoke as she did so.

"It seems like in another age, there was an artefact," he gestured to a drawing that looked a bit like an ornate sceptre, "that was broken down into five pieces and buried in separate locations. However, we cannot decrypt the directions. If you can gather the pieces, the artefact would be a priceless treasure; well I'm, sure you know the reward for this mission."

5 million jewels. Yes, they did.

"Is it dangerous?" Asked Droy.

"As far as we are aware, it is simply ornamental. But it carries the power of a lineage of kings, so it does potentially have some political power. It's hard to see that being a big problem, though."

Jet and Droy's brows furrowed. How often did those words lead to disaster?

* * *

They were there for a while as Levy did her thing. But eventually, she turned a huge mass of words written in an ancient language into a map. It was a piece of wizardry to behold.

They set out for the nearest point on the map, and found themselves in a secluded part of the city, near a park that overlooked the mass of buildings below. The part however was beneath solid concrete.

"Um…do we do this?" Asked Levy nervously. "Should we be tearing through public property?"

"Five million jewels," Droy stated flatly. "Plant magic, Shovel Weed!" The plant had several flattened tendrils that dug through the hard concrete and the earth beyond. It took less than five minutes for them to unearth an ornate chest.

Jet and Droy lifted it out of the hole, and they tried to open it, but couldn't. Levy had to look closely at the lock to figure it out. Taking a couple of metal pins, Levy plied her trade and broke the lock.

"Hah! Told you those spy novels would come in handy!" Something of an exaggeration. Levy had a lot of books about how things worked. She was no engineer (unlike her Edolas counterpart), but she'd sussed locks a long time ago.

She took the piece out and Jet and Droy crowded around. It was unimpressive, little more than a metal rod with a sphere at the end.

"I…guess this is the staff?" Droy asked.

"Uhn," confirmed Levy. She pointed to the head of the staff, just under the sphere. "Look at these four slots. When the other four pieces are entered, they make a crown-like shape."

There was a horrible moment where nothing happened. No movement, no sound.

"I…I can't move…," mumbled Jet weakly. Neither could Levy or Droy. _What was going on?_

"Hmph," said a haughty voice. "That is because you are under the effects of my hair lock." The sceptre piece and map flew into the air as if under their own will, deposited into the hands of a man nearby. "Zebra, if you please?"

"Sound Magic: Thundering Roar!" A shimmering sphere of sound energy flew out to stop just in front of Levy, before expanding and engulfing all of Shadow Gear in a powerful sonic strike. They cried out before collapsing to the floor. Looking up from their prone positions, they saw their assailants for the first time.

A tall, slender man with enormously long hair. "Jeez Zebra. At least let me retract my hair lock before you do that," he said disapprovingly.

An enormously muscled man covered in scars replied. "Shut yer trap Sani. We got it didn't we?"

A small man with short black hair smiled, seemingly unbothered by their argument. His face was pale and unhealthy looking.

The last, a moderately sized man with blue hair and enormous eyebrows was now holding the piece and map. "Thought that would be harder. I guess not all Fairy Tail mages are strong!"

"Who are you?" Jet asked angrily, already back on his feet. Droy was up too, helping a slightly slower Levy. She'd been closer to the attack's epicentre and was hurt worse. The attack wasn't all that strong, but it was comprehensive. It pounded every square inch of their bodies.

"Ah, you're up? I am Toriko, and these three idiots are Coco, Sani and Zebra. We are known as the Five Senses."

"But there are four of you?" Droy asked confused. He ignored his own question. "Why are you after something like this, then?"

"Power, money, women," Toriko stated casually. "Coco?"

The shorter man inhaled. "Poison Magic: Blinding Cloud!" He spat out a green smog that covered the trio, making them hack and cough, blinding them. By the time the cloud had dissipated, four mages had vanished.

"Shit, they got away," Jet said, standing to his full height.

"And they took the map too," Droy said, annoyed.

"Don't worry," said Levy smiling. "It'll take them some time to read it, and I memorized the locations. If we split up and take three of the remaining pieces before them, we can stop them from getting the whole sceptre."

"Oi, we shouldn't split up," said Jet. "It's dangerous."

"No," said Levy. "I'm sure they will, and we can take them down one on one. That attack of his, it wasn't that strong."

"Hey, aren't you hurt?" Droy asked.

Levy ignored him. "The important thing is to avoid fighting with unfavourable numbers." With her solid script, she drew a simple map on the ground and gave directions. Jet and Droy didn't seem happy with her plan, but left.

* * *

Jet had been given the furthest piece to retrieve and took off at high speed. But when he got there, to an open grassy field, he realized that without a map, he had no way to pinpoint the piece. So instead he hid himself in the tree line and waited.

Soon enough, one of the four appeared, the man with the long hair, Sani. As Jet watched him, he seemed as flummoxed as Jet had been. He was muttering to himself, and eventually sat down cross-legged, defeated.

It wasn't particularly brave, but Jet activated Third Gear and struck unseen. However, his kick didn't land properly, something soft cushioning the blow. Still, Sani was sent reeling away.

"How unbeautiful, attacking me like that," he said, getting to his feet. He didn't appear hurt in any way.

"You attacked us without warning too!" Jet shouted back.

"Shaddup!" Sani cried indignantly. "There's no way that you can beat my magic. Hair Lock!" Again, Jet could not move. "Hah! Ya can't see it, but there's a whole ton of invisible hairs locking you in place now! Yer helpless."

Sani took a step back as magical power flowed from Jet. "Second Gear!" His extra power overcame the hair lock and he began drawing a circle around Sani. His hair, moving under its own will surrounded him in a cage like structure.

"Even if you can move, ya'll never get past my defences. I possess the sense of touch. Nothing can get past my wall."

_We'll see, _thought Jet.

* * *

Droy had no such qualms at his destination. He summoned a horde of shovel weeds and dug up _everything _until he found the box. Gajeel would have approved of the straightforwardness. Droy was also standing in a large field, trees crowding the edges.

"Thank you for doing my work for me." Droy turned to find the short, black-haired man approaching him. "Now hand it over. You don't want to fight a poison user. One scratch and you're a dead man."

In return, Droy produced a seed. A magical circle appeared and it transformed into an acorn like plant with a sharp end. Droy stuck it into his skin, smiling.

"With the enzymes of the Zendoru plant, I can neutralise any poison in my bloodstream for the next ten minutes." In addition, his bark armour sprouted, covering his body in tough wooden plates.

"Interesting…I guess I'll have to show you that I'm more than a one-trick pony!" A viscous green liquid flowed in his hand, forming the shape of an irregular sword. His eyes changed becoming snake like. "I possess the sense of sight. I'll find your weakness."

"You can try," Droy said grinning.

* * *

Levy made her way up from their starting point, to the nearest piece. It was higher in the mountains, were road gave way to bare rock. Like Jet, she was unable to dig up the piece, though she was fairly confident of its exact location. But she had been planning to fight the entire time.

She was hurt, sure, but nowhere near as bad as the boys thought. She was frustrated with being coddled. Perhaps even more so now that she felt Gajeel's stare on her shoulders. She wanted to be strong enough that he wouldn't have to worry about her.

She didn't have to wait long. Of all people, it was Zebra, the enormous sound-using brute. He was in the same size range as Elfman, putting him about twenty inches over her head. She faced him openly and brazenly on the open terrain.

He cracked his knuckles. "Not saying yer not brave, but I've not got anything against hitting girls."

"Tell me why you want the sceptre," Levy demanded.

"Huh? Dunno. Don't worry about complicated shit like that. Leave that fer the boss. I'm just here to kick ass. No matter how tiny."

"Then you're useless to me." Zebra was startled by the bold declaration.

"If ya wanna talk ta the boss, yer gotta get past me. Sound Magic: Thundering Roar!"

As the ball of sound surged forward, Levy reacted. "Solid Script: Quake!"

The word impacted the ball, sending vibrations to counter vibrations, both spells destroying one another. Zebra grinned, and cracked his knuckles again.

"Okay, little girl, now ya've really got me fired up! I possess the sense of hearing. Sound is my plaything."

Summoning all of her confidence, the strength of her love, Levy replied.

"Come at me with everything you've got, Gihi!"


End file.
